Man Pulled Knife On Officer Before Shooting, Muskogee Police Say

Muskogee police are investigating their first officer-involved shooting in more than two years. It happened early Monday morning near 32nd and Broadway.

Witnesses say a man was confronted by police and he pulled a knife.

"I heard three shots and I stepped out the door,” Doug Hendricks recalled. “Three policemen, two of them bending down over a subject and one of them holding a gun."

Hendricks works at a maintenance shop just a few doors down from where the shooting happened. He and his coworker Don Anderson both watched as police tried to arrest the man even after he was shot.

"They had to subdue him,” said Anderson. “They had to get him down on the sidewalk."

Muskogee police say someone in the area had flagged down a patrol car and said they'd seen someone matching the man’s description carrying a gun. 

News On 6 has been told Muskogee police may have had dealings with the man in the past. 

When police found him and started asking questions, they say things went south.

"At some point, he pulled the knife out and turned towards the officer,” said Lincoln Anderson, Muskogee Police Department spokesman. “[He] was holding the knife in one of his hands and started towards the officer and that's when the officer fired rounds."

Police say the man was hit twice in the abdomen.

As for the officer who shot, police say he's on routine administrative leave while they conduct the internal investigation.

"I think too many times officers are seen as robots that have zero feelings, but this is not going to be easy on our guy and you know it's going to take some time to come to terms with what he had to do,” said Lincoln.

Police say the man who was shot is at a Tulsa hospital getting treatment. Right now, his name nor the officer’s name are being released.

Police are reviewing body cam footage of the incident, but at this time it’s unknown when police will be releasing that video.