Fatal OKC police shootings down by one death for 2018

Oklahoma City police have shot and killed five people this year, one fewer death than last year’s total.

As of Wednesday, 10 people had been shot by Oklahoma City officers, the highest number of shootings since 2014.

In all, police count 12 officer-involved shootings for the year. In one incident, no injuries were reported. In another case, an Oklahoma City officer fired his weapon at a man who was ultimately shot and killed by a deputy U.S. marshal.

Seven people were shot by police last year, with six of the shootings being fatal.

The most recent fatal shooting happened on Dec. 16, where Jacob Mohow, 35, was killed in the 5900 block of W Reno Avenue.

Police said Mohow was armed with a knife and had tried to cut gasoline pump hoses and was chasing people before officers arrived.

An officer fired a bean bag from a shotgun while another officer fired a Taser at Mohow, but neither seemed to affect the man, who allegedly charged at officers. Sgt. Donald Koger opened fire, fatally wounding him.

Koger, a veteran of the force for more than 9 years, has been placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation into the shooting. The Oklahoma County District Attorney’s office will determine if the shooting was justified.

Only one Oklahoma City officer has faced a criminal charge in connection with an on-duty fatal police-related shooting in the city, police officials told The Oklahoman.

In December 2017, Sgt. Keith Patrick Sweeney was charged with seconddegree murder in connection to the fatal shooting of Dustin Robert Pigeon.

Police reported that Pigeon, 29, called 911 on Nov. 15, 2017, saying he was suicidal. At the scene, officers found Pigeon holding a bottle of lighter fluid in his left hand and a lighter in his right hand.

Sweeney was the third officer to arrive on scene, where two other officers were attempting to de-escalate the situation. Prosecutors said Sweeney arrived and approached Pigeon with his gun drawn. He fired his weapon and Pigeon died at the scene.

Video captured by another officer’s body camera during the incident led Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater to determine that Sweeney’s claim that his life was in danger during the encounter was unfounded.

During an August preliminary hearing for Sweeney, one of the officers who had arrived at the scene before Sweeney testified that he didn’t feel he was in danger at the time Pigeon was shot.

Sweeney’s trial is scheduled for April 2019. Sweeney faces 10 years to life in prison if convicted.

In 2016, five people were shot by police, with four of the shootings resulting in fatalities, records show. In 2015, seven of the nine people shot by police died. Of the 12 people shot in 2014, nine were killed.