Good Lighting Helps Tulsa Police Arrest Armed Suspect

Tulsa Police arrested a man who they say kicked in a woman's door, assaulted her, and threatened her with a knife.

Police say the man pointed something at the officers, and good lighting actually helped them see it was a knife, not a gun. That helped them make a split-second decision on how to handle the situation.

Related Story: Tulsa Man Arrested; Accused Of Assaulting Woman After Breaking Into Her Home

Tulsa Police Lieutenant Virgil Litterell is an expert in the use of force and says these situations are like being a sports referee, you have to make a decision so quickly. But, he says referees have the luxury of instant replay and can change their decision, but police officers don't.

Police say when they got to the assault call, Joseph Bart, refused to listen to officers, then pointed a knife at police, like someone would point a gun.

"When they make fast movements, particularly when those movements are consistent with accessing a weapon, or producing and pointing a weapon, and you've got to make that decision in sometimes literally a quarter of a second,” said Litterell.

Litterell says when dealing with an armed suspect in low light, it’s even harder for officers to see what the weapon is and how they need to react.

"When the subject raises and points something at us, with something in their hand that we can't quite tell what it is, but they are taking this, what could be like a shooting position. Sometimes your brain can start filling in the gaps and think what you see in their hand is a gun, but it is actually a cell phone,” said Litterell.

Police say good lighting helped them this time and eventually, Bart dropped the knife.

Litterell says when people refuse to comply, it’s more dangerous for everyone.

"When you are in the stress of the moment and you're having to make quarter second, half second, one-second decisions, it is much more difficult to be accurate,” said Litterell.

Littrell says officers are trained for these scenarios and encouraged to use their flashlights.

"In the event that anyone reaches in their pocket, we can immediately illuminate that so we can better discern what it is so we don't end up in these mistake of fact scenarios."

Police say Bart violated a protective order when he attacked the victim. Records show Bart has spent time in prison for domestic abuse, assault and burglary.