3rd mistrial in case of ex-cop accused of killing black man

Tulsa, Okla. — For the third time in less than a year a jury deadlocked on Friday and forced a mistrial in the murder case of a white former Oklahoma police officer accused of killing his daughter’s black boyfriend, astonishing prosecutors and frustrating the boyfriend’s family.

Judge Sharon Holmes declared the mistrial after four hours of jury deliberations over the fate of former Tulsa police officer Shannon Kepler. He was accused of fatally shooting 19-year-old Jeremey Lake in August 2014, not long after Lake started dating Kepler’s then-18-year-old daughter, Lisa.

“I’ve never encountered a dynamic like this in 25 years of practice,” said Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler. “In my opinion, there should be some compulsion placed on jurors to reach a verdict.”

Defense attorney Richard O’Carroll did not return a telephone message seeking comment.

Holmes had instructed jurors that they could convict Kepler of first-degree murder or the lesser charge of manslaughter. Manslaughter carries a sentence of four years to life in prison, while the sentence on a first-degree murder conviction is life in prison.

The jury deadlocked 6-6, but Kunzweiler said it was unclear if the breakdown was six for conviction and six for acquittal or six for murder and six for the lesser charge of manslaughter.

Kepler, who retired from the force after he was charged, was a 24-year-police veteran who said he was trying to protect his daughter, who had run away from home and was living in a crime-ridden neighborhood. O’Carroll said Lisa had been in and out of a homeless shelter after her father prohibited her from bringing men into his house.