A shooting by Broken Arrow Police that left one man dead is now considered legally justified after an investigation from the Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office.
The Broken Arrow Police Department (BAPD) released the body cam video on Monday.
BAPD said they had been to this house several times before for domestic or mental incidents involving Samuel Flanagan, but they never rose to this level of chaos.
The body cam video from Broken Arrow Police Officer Danny James shows him and other officers responding to a 911 call on Nov. 29 of last year.
A family member had called to report a domestic incident.
Officers were told 46-year-old Samuel Flanagan was inside the house armed with a machete and a knife.
Officers first made contact with two teen boys living at the house.
When Officer James tried to enter the house, one of the teens stepped in the way.
That’s when their grandmother stepped out. Police said she’s the one who called 911.
“The first officers on scene was one of our trained crisis negotiators,” said BAPD Chief Lance Arnold. “And so when he gets there, he’s first just trying to figure out what’s going on, and both the juveniles are being evasive. The officer is really trying to think, ‘Let’s get everyone out of the house that’s not the aggressor in this case, and then let’s begin negotiations.’”
As the officers separated the three people from the house, Flanagan stepped out holding two large knives.
Flanagan did not listen to commands from officers. That’s when the trigger was pulled.
“In this particular case, Mr. Flanagan is within five feet of one officer and eight feet of another officer, with two very edged weapons, not your typical kitchen knives,” Chief Arnold said. “They took the action necessary to stop Mr. Flanagan’s actions towards them, and immediately took life-saving modes and measures.”
The two teen boys were put in handcuffs and separated from the scene, but not officially arrested.
Officers also entered the home, where they found blood and several holes in the drywall.
“This was an extremely chaotic scene, there was a lot of moving parts and a lot of things going on,” Arnold said. “And so it helps with the investigation, it helps the public understand what our officers face in these investigations and the split second decisions they have to make. This is a great example of the quality of officers that we have. To take the action they took that no officer wants to take and then immediately go and try to save Mr. Flanagan’s life.”
Flanagan was transported to a nearby hospital, where he eventually passed from his injuries.
A toxicology report showed that Flanagan had meth in his system when he was shot.
