Tulsa Police Officer Shoots Man

A Tulsa police officer shot and killed a man Saturday night.<br><br>Someone called police, saying the couple next-door was arguing.<br><br>Officers got there and saw a man who was drunk and carrying a

Sunday, July 9th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

A Tulsa police officer shot and killed a man Saturday night.

Someone called police, saying the couple next-door was arguing.

Officers got there and saw a man who was drunk and carrying a butcher knife.

The officer says he shot to save the woman from being stabbed.

But, the woman now says she wasn't in any danger.

The 9-1-1 call came in around ten o'clock last night.

Police say one minute after Officer Darren Glanz received the call, he went into the apartment building near sixth and Quincy and heard a woman screaming.

They say that as Glanz climbed the stairs, he came upon Bertoldo Lavaton who was carrying a twelve-inch butcher knife.

They say Lavaton started toward Glanz, but the officer yelled Alto, the Spanish word for stop several times.

They say that's when Lavaton turned away from the officer and headed for the apartment where his wife, Iva, had been screaming.

They say that's when Glanz fired the shot.

The victim's wife says she respects the job officers have, but she's upset.

She says Glanz should have waited because she wasn't in danger.

"I think before he came up and shot him, he should have waited for backup. r waited for someone who spoke his language. And I think it would have all been taken care of,â€ says Iva Lavaton.

"It's an unfortunate deal, be we are here to protect the citizens and when you see an individual walking into an apartment, and you don't know whose apartment it is, with a raised twelve inch butcher knife and someone screaming in there, you have no choice to stop the individual," says Tulsa Police Officer Lucky Lamons.

Officer Glanz is on routine suspension as this case is investigated.

The four-year officer is the son of Tulsa County Sheriff Stanley Glanz.

The sheriff says the fact that it is son, brings the tragedy much closer to home.