FORMER OFFICER GETS 15 YEARS FOR FATAL SHOOTING

A white ex-Oklahoma police officer was sentenced Monday to 15 years in prison for the fatal off-duty shooting of his daughter’s black boyfriend, after four trials spanning nearly a year, including three that resulted in hung juries.

Former Tulsa officer Shannon Kepler was convicted last month of firstdegree manslaughter in the 2014 slaying of 19- year- old Jeremey Lake. Tulsa County District Court Judge Sharon Holmes also imposed a $10,000 fine.

Before Kepler was sentenced, Lake’s father, Carl Morse, addressed the court, his head bowed as if struggling to speak.

“The last three years of my life have been a living hell,” he said, describing his son as a “fighter” from his premature birth, and saying Lake was going to welding school to make something of himself.

Morse then directly addressed Kepler, who sat nearby in the jury box.

“What you did was wrong ... and from now on, you have to pay the consequences of your actions,” Morse said.