BLACKWELL, Okla. – An Oklahoma police lieutenant was indicted last week for murder after he allegedly fired nearly 60 rounds at a road-rage suspect who was firing rounds at others, earlier this year.
John Mitchell, a 40-year-old lieutenant with the Blackwell Police Department, was charged with second-degree murder in the death of Micheal Ann Godsey, 34, on May 20.
Mitchell engaged in “imminently dangerous conduct” when he shot Godsey in Blackwell, located roughly 90 miles north of Oklahoma City, a grand jury concluded last Thursday, alleging the officer wasn’t justified in firing dozens of shots at the suspect.
Authorities had responded to reports of gunfire coming from a white pickup truck at various locations in Blackwell when the incident broke out, The Oklahoman reported. Responding officers reportedly pursued Godsey’s pickup truck and exchanged gunfire with her before her truck came to a stop.
Godsey was found dead and alone in the driver’s seat of her truck, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said.
Mitchell’s defense attorney, Gary James, argued the 40-year-old police officer acted lawfully to stop a threat. James said it was a “sad day for law enforcement and society,” and described Godsey as a “violent, fleeing felon.”
“She shot at the police twice. She has shot at her mother twice. She has shot at a private citizen. We know she fired other rounds around town,” James said. “Mitchell gets in behind her. He took his AR-15 and he started shooting through the front windshield at her.”
James said Mitchell was cleared by an independent internal affairs review of the shooting. Mitchell faces at least 10 years in prison, if convicted, according to Fox News.
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