Crime & Safety
Oklahoma City Police Kill Deaf Man: Training Concerns Raised
Witnesses yelled "he can't hear you" before an officer shot Magdiel Sanchez, but the officer didn't hear them saying that, police said.
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK — An Oklahoma City police officer responding to a report of a hit-and-run Tuesday shot and killed a deaf man wielding a metal pipe even as witnesses screamed the man couldn't hear commands to drop the weapon. The killing has raised "a lot of concerns" about training officers how to interact with hearing-impaired individuals, the city's top cop said Thursday, and he plans to meet with advocates about it.
The killing of Magdiel Sanchez, 35, was "something that's tragic, either way," Chief Bill Citty said. He gave his condolences to Sanchez's family. Citty said Sanchez didn't respond to commands to drop the pipe and was fatally shot. (For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)
Surveillance video obtained by KOCO News 5 shows a car crash into the side of a pickup truck near Southeast 57th Street and South Shields Boulevard. The truck rolls and comes to rest in an upright position on its wheels. Both the car and the pickup drive off. A witness followed the pickup though, and led police to an address where Sanchez's father — the driver of the truck — had parked the vehicle.
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Officers arrived at the home and found Sanchez outside holding a metal pipe. Witnesses yelled "he can't hear you" before the officers fired, but they didn't hear them saying that, police said. One officer fired a stun gun, but Sgt. Chris Barnes fired a gun. Barnes remains on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation.
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Meanwhile, Sanchez family spokesman Julio Rayos told The Associated Press on Thursday that attorney Melvin C. Hall was hired to represent the family. Hall, who specializes in employment law and civil rights cases, was an attorney for the family of Terence Crutcher, who was fatally shot in September 2016 by Tulsa police officer Betty Jo Shelby.
Crutcher, 40, was black and unarmed when he was shot by Shelby during an encounter on a road where his SUV was stopped. Shelby, who is white, was acquitted of first-degree manslaughter. Crutcher's family has sued over the killing.
By KEN MILLER and TIM TALLEY, Associated Press
Photo credit: Sanchez Family Photo via AP
