OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – Investigators said they are still piecing together the shooting of Demetrize Carter by an off-duty officer, following the deadly football game between Choctaw and Del City High Schools back in August.
First-degree murder charges were filed Monday against Dayvion Hamilton,the 15-year-old accused of killing 16-year-old Cordea Carter.
Cordea died on his way to the hospital; a second teen was also shot, but survived.
Amid the panic, Demetrize Carter was also shot by an off-duty Del City police officer working security.
Early into the investigation, police said the officer perceived a threat, but Billy Clark, the attorney for Mr. Carter, maintains that Mr. Carter was not a danger:
REPORTER: Did Mr. Carter have a gun?
BILLY CLARK: No. The only thing he did have on him was a cell phone.
Clark sent a blistering letter to the Oklahoma County District Attorney’s Office Monday, saying the officer “displayed poor judgment, fired his weapon without any active threat against him or others, and violated the constitutional rights of Mr. Demetrize Carter and other citizens nearby and within the zone of danger”.
“We have multiple witness statements that will testify that Mr. Carter did have his hands up. He was unarmed and he was in fear of his life from these officers,” said Clark on Monday in an interview with KFOR.
Although Clark identified the officer in the letter and to KFOR, the station is not revealing the name because charges have not been formally filed.
The Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office previously told the station, the investigation into the shooting had been put on hold because several key eyewitnesses got attorneys and had not yet been interviewed.
Subsequently, Clark is calling for a range of charges, including assault and battery with a deadly weapon, shooting with intent to kill and unlawful discharging of a firearm.
“When we have these officers that use their badge and instruments of the government to oppress people and to violate their rights just because they have a badge, we want to call them out on every single occasion, and they should be held accountable on every single occasion,” Clark added.
Meanwhile, in an earlier interview with KFOR Monday, the attorney for the Fraternal Order of Police said the officer who fired the gun saw Carter with a weapon in his hand.
“Which they believed to be a gun – or something – Black in his hand coming up, that both officers perceived were a pistol,” said Gary James.
James said he has reviewed the body camera footage from the incident.
“I would love for [Clark] to see it, because he will change his narrative,” James added.
“There were commands being given, ‘drop the gun, drop the gun’.”
But, Clark says multiple eyewitness accounts say his client had his hands up and he was unarmed.
But, Clark told KFOR he hasn’t been allowed to see the video, even though he has asked for it several times, as recently as Friday during a meeting with an investigator and Carter.
“I’d like to see that video to see exactly what they’re talking about,” Clark said.
“If those are the cases why hasn’t my client been arrested for pointing a gun or having a gun,” he continued.
Billy Clark said Carter wants to file criminal charges against the officer for using his weapon “to commit a crime in violation of the law”.
In a letter sent Tuesday to News 4’s Ashley Moss, Clark requested any additional information, videos, pictures or audio from anyone who may have witnessed the shooting, or the events surrounding it.
In an email Monday, the DA’s office said they can’t confirm the name of the officer or any pending charges, adding, “we have not been presented the case so it would be presumptuous to comment”.
“We want the city to make some changes. We need the city to make changes [because] if this happens again, it could be worse,” said Clark.
“We want to know that if an officer takes an oath, they hold that oath to high regards and they make sure they’re always doing the right thing, ” he added.
“We have a whole lot of things that we want done, and we want it done now.”
