CONTACT: Brook Arbeitman

July 28, 2023

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

OKLAHOMA CITY - Oklahoma County District Attorney Vicki Zemp Behenna has made final charging decisions in three use of force investigations involving two different metro police departments.

• Officer Chance Avery was charged with Murder in the Second Degree, or alternatively Manslaughter in the First Degree, for the July 25, 2020, death of Christopher Poor. Avery is an officer with the Village Police Department.

• Officers Jared Barton, Corey Adams, Bradley Pemberton, Bethany Sears and Jonathan Skuta are all facing a charge of Manslaughter in the First Degree related to the November 23, 2020, death of Stavian Rodriquez, 15, in Oklahoma City. Rodriquez was shot and killed outside the Okie Gas and Express Store on South Western Avenue.

• Officer Clifford Holman, with the Oklahoma City Police Department, was charged with Manslaughter in the First Degree, or alternatively Manslaughter in the Second Degree, for the December 11, 2020, death of Bennie Edwards, 60. Edwards was shot after a confrontation with officers outside a small shopping plaza located at 2111 West Hefner Road in Oklahoma City.

The DA’s Office retained a use-of-force expert to evaluate each case independently. Clarence Chapman has 28 years of experience with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, where he retired as a Captain, and 10 years with the University of California Los Angeles Police Department where he was the chief of police. As an expert in use-of-force investigations, he has consulted on more than one thousand cases for more than 150 municipal, county, state and federal agencies.

Chapman reviewed case materials from body worn camera video, medical examiner reports, interviews with witnesses, to reports from other agencies on scene to form his opinion in each case.

“When incidents involving officer-involved shootings occur, it is vital to engage in a vigorous and independent exercise of in-depth and unbiased review and analysis,” said Clarance Chapman, Police Practices Expert with National Justice Consultants, Inc. “My focus in these cases was to determine the appropriateness of the relevant applicable tactics, training, policies and national standards with regard to the incidents provided for my review.”

After reviewing each of the three cases, Chapman submitted reports to DA Behenna. The District Attorney then put together a small committee of seasoned trial lawyers from the DA’s office to painstakingly review not only Chapman’s opinion on these cases, but also the entire case file.

“I know how highly-charged the topic of law enforcement use-of-force is in the current environment,” said Vicki Zemp Behenna, Oklahoma County District Attorney. “It is critical to evaluate each case independently and make a decision based on facts, not emotion. No matter what the ultimate decision is, there is a family that is going to be changed forever. I do not take these decisions lightly and they are not made in a vacuum.”

Oklahoma law 21 O.S. §732 (2) and (3) states that an officer is justified in using deadly force when:

1. When making an arrest... the officer reasonably believes both that:

a. Such force is necessary to keep the arrest from being prevented by... escape; and

b. There is probable cause to believe that the person to be arrested has committed a crime involving the infliction or threatened infliction of serious bodily harm, or

2. The officer is in the performance of their legal duty... and reasonably believes the use-of- force is necessary to protect him/herself, or others from the infliction of serious bodily harm.

With those legal parameters in mind, review of Chapman’s expert opinion and in consultation with prosecutors, District Attorney Behenna has made the following charging decisions:

OFFICER CHANCE AVERY, THE VILLAGE POLICE DEPARTMENT

Charges Dismissed
Chapman concluded that “a suspect armed with a potentially deadly weapon advancing directly toward a uniformed and armed police officer, while disobeying orders to drop the weapon can be reasonably interpreted as a deadly threat. Officer Avery acted in strict accord with nationally accepted standards of proper procedures and tactics in defense of his life and the lives of others in the face of an imminent and credible deadly threat.”

OFFICERS BARTON, ADAMS, PEMBERTON, SEARS AND SKUTA, OKLAHOMA CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT

Charges Dismissed
Officers are trained to continuously assess a suspect’s actions and be prepared to shift as needed to the appropriate force needed. In Chapman’s opinion, Stavian “created a sufficiency of fear” in the minds of the officers. He was repeatedly told to show his hands and to get on the ground. Instead of complying, Stavian lifted the front of his shirt and pulled a semi-automatic pistol from his waistband and dropped it on the ground. After which Stavian continued ignoring the officers’ commands and lowered his left hand to the side of his waistband. “The act of a suspect facing and making eye contact with uniformed armed police officers while disobeying orders and lowering his hand to his waistband area as if retrieving a firearm can be reasonably interpreted as an imminent deadly threat requiring defensive action. The five officers acted lawfully and appropriately in the fact of an imminent and credible deadly threat.”

OFFICER CLIFFORD HOLMAN, OKLAHOMA CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT

Charges Dismissed
In Chapman’s expert opinion, Edwards posed a significant threat to the officers at the scene. “Contemporary police training and national standards of care instructs that suspects exhibiting obvious symptoms of mental illness can be dangerous and a threat to officer safety.” Mr. Edwards was not obeying commands to “put the knife down” and was acting erratically. Additionally, when Mr. Edwards charged at Sgt Duroy with the knife, he became an imminent threat to Sgt. Duroy and committed a felony assault on Sgt Duroy.

Criminal charges are based on probable cause to believe a person has committed a crime. All defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

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