Dashcam Video From 2019 Shows Trooper-Involved Shooting Of Suspect Inside Cruiser

An Oklahoma man is fighting a prison sentence that stems from an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper-involved shooting.

Trooper Josh Tinsley shot Chris Mills, 36, in the front seat of his cruiser in Jackson County in January 2019.

The man's mother sent News 9 the trooper's dashcam video. She wants the public to watch and decide if her son deserved a 30 to life sentence for what started as a traffic stop.

Tinsley pulled Mills over on a traffic stop in a neighborhood in Blair, Oklahoma.

Mills sat in the front seat of Tinsley's cruiser for a while, in what seemed to be an uneventful interaction. The trooper learned Mills was driving with a revoked license due to a felony DUI.

The stop turned into a scuffle when Tinsley attempted to take Mills into custody. 

Trooper: “Stay in the car, stay in the car.”

Mills: “OK, I’m trying to give you my hand.”

Trooper: “No you’re not.”

Mills: “I’m not doing anything.”

Trooper: “Put your hand behind your back right now.”

The trooper told Mills to put his hands behind his back several times. 

Trooper: “I’m gonna choke you out and put you on the ground.”

Mills: “I’m not doing anything, stop it now.”

Eventually, Tinsley threatened to shoot if the suspect did not cooperate. 

Trooper: “Stop now.”

Mills: “Leave me alone. Ah. OK, OK. Oh God.”

Trooper: “Roll out on the ground, roll out on the ground.”

Tinsley’s gun was heard going off three times. After the shooting, Tinsley could be heard off-camera talking to another trooper about the suspect’s injury.

Trooper: “He’s got one through the back all the way through the abdomen.”

Trooper: “It’s just one isn’t it?”

Mills spent 22 days at OU Medical Center before being transferred to the Jackson County jail.

He has since been convicted of assaulting the trooper, having a gun while committing a felony, resisting an officer and trafficking drugs.

Mill's mother said she hired Oklahoma City attorney Scott Adams to appeal her son's sentence.

Mills is scheduled to be formally sentenced in Jackson County in January.