Man shot by deputies had history of erratic behavior

The McCurtain County Sheriff’s Office has requested the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) to investigate an officer-involved fatal shooting Sunday near Tom, Okla.

The man fatally shot by officers was Devin Hawkins, 32, of Foreman, Ark.

“The McCurtain County Sheriff’s Office received a call about a man walking down a road near Tom with a gun threatening to kill people,” according to Jessica Brown, OSBI spokeswoman.

“When deputies arrived in the area, they were told the subject had run into a wooded area. While patrolling the area, a deputy saw a pickup truck leaving a home on Jasper Hollow Road that was near the area where the subject was seen,” Brown said.

“The deputy pulled over the vehicle. The driver lived at the residence and told the deputy he was giving the passenger, whom he did not know, a ride. The deputy asked the passenger if he had a weapon. The subject showed the deputy a gun in his waistband. The subject then grabbed the handgun and

put it to his head. By this time, another deputy and the Sheriff Kevin Clardy arrived on the scene,” Brown said.

“The deputies tried to get Hawkins to put down the gun and get out of the truck. He refused and pointed the gun at the sheriff, firing at least one time. The deputies then shot Hawkins, killing him. No one else was injured. OSBI special agents arrived on the scene shortly after and conducted interviews and documented the scene. Agents will provide the district attorney a full report of the incident. The district attorney will determine if the shooting was justified,” Brown said.

Hawkins was involved in three incidents with law enforcement in Foreman, Ark., in 2016.

He originally was arrested in March 2016 for escape and had been released on bond. A year later, on March 14, 2017, Hawkins received a three-year probated sentence for the March 2016 felony escape charge.

The probation rules said Hawkins must not purchase, own, control or possess any firearm or other prohibited deadly weapon at any time or be in the company of any person possessing the same (weapon).

The second incident with Little River law enforcement occurred on April 14, 2016, when Hawkins reportedly discharged an AR-15 rifle periodically during the night. Hawkins was living in a storage building behind a house that burned in March 2016, according to then-Little River County Sheriff Gary Gregory.

The report states, “Hawkins told family members he would not be taken out alive and he would have to be taken out feet first in a body bag.”

The third incident occurred April 15, 2016 when Hawkins was involved in a standoff in Foreman, Ark.

“He wasn’t threatening anybody at that time (April 14). He was not hostile toward anyone that first day. He would discharge the gun occasionally. The next day he was becoming hostile. We had to play it by ear and protect the public and handle the situation. I called the State Police and the Game and Fish Commission to help on the second day (April 15, 2016) We were lucky it worked out for everybody,” Gregory said Monday.

Arkansas Game & Fish Wildlife Officer Cpl. Blake Broomfield was recently honored with the “Warden’s Cross Award” for his courage during an April 15, 2016 armed standoff in Foreman, Ark., with Hawkins.

The award honors wildlife officers, who “demonstrated extraordinary courage” said Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Director Jeff Crow.

Broomfield received the award during the fourth annual Enforcement Awards Banquet in Little Rock.

He was honored for his actions during the armed standoff with Hawkins in April 2016 in a residential neighborhood in Foreman near a local elementary school.

Arriving in support of Little River County Sheriff ’s Department, Broomfield set up surveillance at a residence where Hawkins had barricaded himself into an outbuilding after firing gunshots.

After several hours, the suspect emerged from the building with a handgun, frantically waving his arms, the report states.

Officers talked with the suspect and tried to get him to come into custody peacefully. After several attempts to work with the man, officers were forced to use a Taser to remove further threat of injury or death. After the first Taser shot did not connect properly, Broomfield fired his Taser, disarming the suspect and taking him into custody without further incident.