Del City officer will not face charges in shooting at Choctaw football game
Police and firefighters respond to a shooting during a Del City – Choctaw football game on Aug. 25 at Choctaw High School. Photo by Jeff Harrison
OKLAHOMA CITY – An Oklahoma County Grand Jury recommended no charges be filed against a Del City police officer accused of shooting Demetrize Carter at a football game at Choctaw High School on Aug. 25, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
The grand jury heard testimony from 10 witnesses and reviewed 41 exhibits related to the incident. After reviewing evidence and hearing testimony, the panel determined “a use-of-force expert was not necessary” for the grand jury’s decision.
The incident happened during the season opener between Del City and Choctaw. Just after 10 p.m., shots were fired near the visitor stands.
Cordae Carter, 16, a Midwest City High School student, was shot and killed. Demetrize Carter, no relation, suffered a gunshot wound to the chest, and a female student was shot in the leg.
An off duty Del City police officer, who was working security at the game, shot Demetrize Carter, who was not the shooter. Demetrize’s attorney said he was trying to stop kids from fighting when the first shot was fired. Demetrize suffered critical injuries and is still recovering at home.
A 15-year-old was charged in the death of Cordae Carter, but the charges were later dropped. No other suspects have been charged in the case.
In September, Oklahoma County District Attorney Vicki Zemp Behenna requested a grand jury to review the officer involved shooting.
The Oklahoma County Grand Jury was convened in October. The grand jury has the power to inquire into all offenses that occur in the county and either indict or no bill the offending individual.
The panel issued the following recommendations for all law enforcement agencies in Oklahoma County, as well as all school districts located in Oklahoma County:
- Law enforcement agencies should review the policies and procedures regarding activating body-worn-camera (BWC) and ensure uniformed personnel have functioning BWC that activates in a timely manner.
- In a multi-agency response such as the Choctaw Football shooting, a lead law enforcement agency should be selected in a swift and concise manner, and that agency should coordinate personnel and assignments for responding agencies throughout the investigation.
- The Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office should invest in technology that allows their technical investigator (crime scene investigator) to produce an accurate scene sketch with a legend and evidence item key, and real-life photographs should be taken at the scene. Multiple technical investigators should respond to a scene as large as a football stadium; if the technical investigator requests access to the scene for further processing, they should not be prohibited from doing so; detectives on scene should help identify key evidence to process for DNA and latent prints; and all personnel handling evidence should be adequately equipped with gloves.
- A cross departmental and jurisdictional training program should be implemented that specifically addresses and provides training with how to respond to and investigate a scene similar to the Choctaw football game shooting; and those involved with the Choctaw football game investigation should receive further training on crime scene processing and investigative techniques.
- When law enforcement is requested for a school extracurricular activity, there should be a briefing before the event between all the law enforcement attending the event to discuss and plan for any issues that may arise.
- All schools districts should implement additional security measures for all extracurricular school events to include student identification for entry, metal detectors and operable surveillance video systems directed at the event and parking lots.
