Appeals Court Decision Impacts Okla. Police Officers Facing Criminal Charges In Deadly Use Of Force Cases

Changes could be in store for Oklahoma police officers who are facing criminal charges in deadly use of force cases. 

This comes after the state Court of Criminal Appeals ruled in favor of a Blackwell officer who fired 60 shots at a woman, killing her.

The appeals court ruled a police officer could continue to use deadly force until the threat was stopped, and a prosecutor must prove if excessive force was used. A ruling nearly four years in the making.

“The court was very strong in John Mitchell’s ruling,” Gary James, an attorney, said. “It has done a lot of good for police officers.”  

Dash camera video from 2019 showed Blackwell Lieutenant John Mitchell firing dozens of rounds at Michael Godsey. He was indicted by a grand jury and later arraigned on a manslaughter charge. 

Two years later, a Kay County judge dismissed the criminal case, ruling the use of force was justified.

The state appeals court agreed and stated in an unpublished document released this week, "the preliminary hearing evidence coincides not with guilt but solely with innocence."

“That’s huge,” James said. “That’s vindication to John Mitchell.”

James also represents Oklahoma City officers and a Village police officer facing criminal charges for three deadly shootings that happened in 2020.

James said those cases will be directly impacted by this ruling, as well as a new use of force law to determine what's excessive and what's reasonable.

“That tells a district attorney, that tells a judge and juries you now have to have an element of excessive force,” James said.

News 9 did reach out to Oklahoma County District Attorney Vicky Behenna's office for reaction to the court's ruling and how she planned to move forward. Her office did not want to comment on cases from other counties. 

The charged Oklahoma City and Village police officers remain on paid administrative leave.