Magdiel Sanchez, 35, a hearing-impaired man from Oklahoma City, was shot and killed by police during a confrontation
Surveillance video of the car crash that preceded a fatal police shooting of a deaf man has emerged, as the family announced they have hired a high-profile attorney.
Magdiel Sanchez, 35, was shot dead by an Oklahoma City police officer on Tuesday, after police ordered him to drop a metal pipe but failed to hear neighbors yelling that the man was deaf.
Police were investigating a hit-and-run involving Sanchez’s father, who drove his pickup truck back to their residence after the crash at around 8.15pm, according to witnesses.
Now, surveillance video shows the hit-and-run.
A pickup truck collides with a car. As the car hits the pickup in its side, the truck rolls over completely and then comes to rest in an upright position on its wheels. The car doesn’t stop and the pickup drives away, too.
The pickup truck being driven by Sanchez’s father (dark colored vehicle, behind the white truck) is seen flipping onto its side with its headlights aligned vertically after colliding with a car
The truck rolled completely over in the intersection. The circumstances of the crash are not yet completely clear
The truck is seen coming to rest on its wheels after rolling over. Both vehicles drove away from the crash but witnesses followed the truck back to the home where he lived with Sanchez
Sanchez himself was not in the truck at the time of the crash, police said.
A witness who followed the pickup led police to an address where Sanchez’s father, who was driving the truck, had parked the vehicle.
Police said they arrived at the home and Sanchez was on the front porch holding a metal pipe that was approximately two feet long and that had a leather loop on one end for wrapping around one’s wrist.
Witnesses could hear the officers ordering Sanchez to drop the pipe and get on the ground.
But the officers didn’t hear the witnesses yelling that Sanchez couldn’t hear them, police said.
One officer fired a Taser, which missed Sanchez and had no effect.
Sergeant Chris Barnes fired his gun, killing Sanchez. Neither officer had a body camera.
Barnes is on administrative leave pending an investigation.
Courtesy of KOCO
Police were investigating a hit-and-run Tuesday night when they say they were confronted by Sanchez holding a metal pipe
Neighbor Julio Rayos, who was an eyewitness to the shooting, answers questions Wednesday
People arrive at the home of Magdiel Sanchez, who was allegedly developmentally disabled and non-verbal
Meanwhile, Sanchez family spokesman Julio Rayos said on Thursday that attorney Melvin C. Hall has been hired to represent the family.
Hall, who specializes in employment law and civil rights cases, was an attorney for the family of Terence Crutcher, a black man who was fatally shot in September 2016 by white Tulsa police officer Betty Jo Shelby.
Shelby was acquitted of first-degree manslaughter, but the Crutcher family has filed a civil suit over his death.
Also on Thursday, the Oklahoma City Police chief said the fatal shooting of Sanchez has raised ‘a lot of concerns’ about training for officer interaction with people with hearing or speech problems.
Chief Bill Citty said the shooting ‘is something that’s tragic, either way.’ He added that he gives condolences to the Sanchez family.
Citty said he plans to meet with advocates for those who have such impairments.