State Lawmakers Examining Deadly Officer-Involved Shootings, In-Custody Deaths

An Oklahoma state lawmaker announced he is using data to examine whether Oklahoma law enforcement agencies are using too much force and if in-custody deaths are justified.

Rep. Justin Humphrey of Lane told News On 6 he requested data from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, national and local protests and calls to defund police.

The data breaks down the race and ages of those who died during officer-involved shootings and arrests.

Humphrey said during the years 2015, 2017, and 2018, there were 92 deadly officer-involved shootings in which 57 of those who died were white, 17 black, 9 Native American, 7 Hispanic, and two were unknown or other.

Information for 2016 was not included because incidents were not verified through the necessary means listed in each report under the “methodology” section, according to the Office of Criminal Justice Statistics.

The former law enforcement officer-turned lawmaker said the preliminary analysis of this data seems to support those who serve and protect are doing a "great job."

"When you look at today's environment and the threats and what they have to do to arrest people,” said Humphrey.

As for arrest-related deaths, Humphrey said OSBI data from 2009 to 2013 shows there 133, in which 81 were white, 31 black, 7 Native American, 11 Hispanic, and 3 unknown.

"One incident of police brutality is too much in my opinion,” said Humphrey. “So, are there some things that we could frame?"

Democratic representative Regina Goodwin of Tulsa, who is chair of the Legislative Black Caucus, told News On 6 this data does not answer questions from years of concern.

"Why is there a disproportionate rate of black people that are affected when it comes to deaths when it comes to excessive force when it comes to those that are stopped and are profiled?" asked Goodwin.

Goodwin said this data can be misleading without other information.

Humphrey and Goodwin have agreed to do their own studies and meet in October in hopes of collaborating on solutions.

"Whether we're talking about chokeholds needing to be banned, can we agree on that?” explained Goodwin. “Can we talk about qualified immunity? Can we talk about body cams? Can we talk about the de-escalation of force?"

You can find the full study here - OSBI Statistics Report

Humphrey and Goodwin said they welcome feedback.

Email for Rep. Humphrey:

Justin.Humphrey@okhouse.gov

Email for Rep. Goodwin:

Regina.Goodwin@okhouse.gov