Man killed by police shot after officers fired

Tulsa World

TULSA — The man who was fatally shot by police outside a Tulsa hotel Monday fired a single round during the interaction, though at least one officer fired first, the Tulsa Police Department said Tuesday.

Tulsa homicide Sgt. Dave Walker said the department was still investigating the events that led officers to fire at the man, who was in a vehicle with two other men at the Extended Stay Inn & Suites in the 8500 block of East 41st Street. A department spokeswoman initially said the man did not fire any shots.

When Tulsa Gang Unit officers approached the parked vehicle to talk with the driver, they saw a front-seat passenger, described as a white man in his early 20s, with “a gun in his hand.” A short time later, officers shot him, spokeswoman Jeanne MacKenzie said Monday.

Walker said the man, who is known for involvement with burglaries, is an ex-convict, a status that precludes him from legally owning a firearm. When asked whether officers knew of his criminal background before approaching the vehicle, Walker said they did not.

“We will go up there and ask that question so (residents) don’t have to,” Walker said.

On Monday, MacKenzie said officers were approaching the vehicle to have a conversation with its occupants.

“They (officers) were just going to talk to them,” MacKenzie said. “They hadn’t really made contact when they saw the gun.”

The department still has not clarified whether the man brandished the weapon or was just holding the firearm before he was shot.

Officers were in the process of notifying the man’s family on Tuesday and did not identify him.

The shooting was the city’s 14th homicide of 2018.