Friends Of Man Killed By Troopers In Tahlequah Say He Was Trying To Turn Life Around

A friend of the man killed in an trooper involved-shooting in Tahlequah said James Thompson was a good man who struggled to make good choices.

Friday, February 28th 2020, 12:07 am

By: News On 6

Friends Of Man Killed By Troopers In Tahlequah Say He Was Trying To Turn Life Around

A friend of the man killed in an trooper involved-shooting in Tahlequah said James Thompson was a good man who struggled to make good choices.

He tells News On 6, he is devastated his friend’s life ended the way it did, especially after he said Thompson had tried to do to get his life back on track.

OHP released new information saying that Thompson shot at law enforcement before he died yesterday. His friends said they did everything they could to help him and are devastated that things ended this way.

"He had the potential to change. I have seen it firsthand and so did several others," said Thompson’s friend, Dillon Scott Rennie.

Rennie said he was in a faith-based rehabilitation program with Thompson for 6 months and saw Thompson make what appeared to be genuine life changes. Dillon said Thompson's motivation was his goal to start building a relationship with his kids.

“That is one of the reasons he stayed so dedicated and turned his life over to God - and stuff like that in the program," said Rennie.

Rennie said Thompson was kicked out of the judge issued program one day before he was set to graduate. Rennie believes the fear of going back to prison made Thompson spiral out of control. His friends tried to help but say they couldn’t get through to him.

OHP said U.S. Marshals were trying to arrest Thompson Wednesday near Tahlequah after he was accused of shooting at a Fort Gibson Police officer over the weekend. They said he jumped out of the vehicle he was in and shot at officers when he was shot and killed.

The news devastated Thompson’s friends who had been trying to help him get his life back on track.

“The disease of addiction just got the better of him and caused him to make some decisions that led to this,” said Rennie.

Two troopers have been placed on administrative leave while the shooting is investigated.

","published":"2020-02-28T06:07:22.000Z","updated":"2020-02-28T06:07:22.000Z","summary":"A friend of the man killed in an trooper involved-shooting in Tahlequah said James Thompson was a good man who struggled to make good choices.","affiliate":{"_id":"5c784a0c4961cb23ad330098","callSign":"kotv","origin":"https://www.newson6.com"},"contentClass":"news","createdAt":"2020-03-06T16:24:03.154Z","updatedAt":"2020-03-31T17:28:12.682Z","__v":1,"breakingNews":[],"show":true,"link":"/story/5e6279235d575f9d06d2c25b/friends-of-man-killed-by-troopers-in-tahlequah-say-he-was-trying-to-turn-life-around","hasSchedule":false,"id":"5e6279235d575f9d06d2c25b"};