The charges follow a season of protests against police brutality and systemic racism after George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis.
Jared Lakey, 28, died on July 6, 2019, after being tested multiple times by officers Joshua Taylor, 25, and Brandon Dingman, 34, of the Wilson Police Department.
The city is about 100 miles south of Oklahoma City.
“When Lakey failed to comply with officers’ commands, Taylor and Dingman used their Tasers multiple times,” the statement said.
“A Carter County deputy finally responded to the scene and was able to help take Lakey into custody. Soon after, Lakey stopped breathing and stopped responding. Lakey was transported to the hospital in Healdton and then to the OU Medical Center in Oklahoma City , which is where he died. “
OSBI public information officer Brook Arbeitman said Lakey did not cooperate with officers, the station reported.
“According to court documents, Officer Dingman deployed his Taser 23 times for a total of 114 tasting seconds for nine minutes. Officer Taylor deployed his Taser 30 times for 122 seconds total,” the station reported.
Lakey made no aggressive moves and officials did not try to contain him, KXII reported.
The OSBI statement says it then investigated and sent a report to the district attorney, who issued arrest warrants for the officers on Wednesday.
Both officers turned themselves in to the Carter County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday. They were booked on one count of second-degree murder each.
The officers were released after each posted a $ 250,000 bond, according to the OSBI statement. CNN is trying to communicate with her lawyers.
“It is not often that we see the police prosecuted criminally. The actions of these officers justify the criminal charges,” Lakey’s family attorney Steven Terrill said in a statement to CNN.
“The video of this incident, which our firm has worked to release for some time, is a heartbreaking and disturbing account of a young man who dies due to the direct actions of the police.”
“The district attorney’s actions in filing second-degree murder charges are a great step in providing the public with assurance that the police will be held to account,” Terrill said.
The OSBI investigation lasted seven months, and Ladd sought an expert on the use of force to review the evidence and added another three months, the newspaper reported. The Covid-19 pandemic also reportedly delayed the process by making it difficult to schedule meetings.
Wilson’s police chief Kevin Coley told CNN: “I cannot speak about the case, as there is still an investigation for civil proceedings.”
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