Ambushed: Remembering An Oklahoma County Deputy’s Last Call

Serving an eviction notice led to a heart wrenching loss for the Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office in 2022. 

Sergeant Bobby Swartz was shot and killed as he approached the back door of a home in the 2200 Block of Southwest 78th Street. Two deputies, Mark Johns, and Melody Norton were also assisting with the civil enforcement procedure and narrowly escaped the attack.

The incident underscores a harsh reality of working in law enforcement. On any given day, the line of duty can become a fine line, a very thin blue line between calm and chaos.

One such day was August 22, 2022.

"We get there just like any other eviction," Deputy Norton said.

The three deputies went to the front door, but the evictee refused to cooperate.

"He said if you want me out, you're going to have to come and get me," Deputy Johns explained, the deputies made several negotiation attempts before devising a plan to move in on him. "We told deputy Norton you keep him busy at the front door while we go to the back."

Plank wasn't fooled.

Norton remembers hearing Plank's voice trail off about the time her partners reached the backyard.

"I'm talking to him...and I can tell when they get to the back because his voice changes," said Norton.

They remember Plank yelling out for them to step away from the back doors.

The deputies didn't know that he was heavily armed with pistols, a shotgun, and three rifles including an AR-15 style rifle. Still, they decided to exercise caution and backed away from the doors.

"I was explaining to Sgt. Swartz, I said the only way to get in this thing is through these doors, " Johns said. "The minute that I said that all hell broke loose, it was just like a grenade had gone off."

Swartz and Johns went to the ground with the first shot.

"I reached over, and I covered Sgt. Swartz, and I was telling him we've got to move. We've got to get out of here. But he wasn't responding," said Johns.

Plank kept firing.

"I could feel the dirt flying up into the air onto my uniform and head," Johns said of the gunfire.

Investigators later counted 38 spent rifle casings, six 9mm handgun casings and three .45-caliber pistol casings in the home. They believe that's just a fraction of the ammunition used in the ambush.

"I'm screaming at Bobby,  we've got to move," Johns said. "I knew he was hurt bad."

One of the rounds took the life of Sgt. Swartz. His partners had only a split second to save themselves.

"I jumped up and ran to the northeast corner of the house," Johns said.

Deputy Norton, meanwhile, had taken cover behind a truck in front of the house.

"I could hear Mark yelling for me because the fire had stopped in the back," Norton said. “There's no way I can get to him, there's no way he can get to me.”

Both were in imminent danger.

"I see something out of my peripheral vision and when I turn I see Plank, and he's aiming at me," Johns said. Before he could defend himself, Plank shot him twice. "I was praying to God that I wasn't going to die."

Plank then returned his focus to Dep. Norton.

"I just remember thinking, this is it, like, this is really just it," she said .”Plank had the AR-15 and was just going along the house looking."

Fortunately for Norton and Johns, Plank realized the backup was nearly there, so he threw his guns into a truck and sped away with a boat in tow. 

Authorities chased Plank through Oklahoma City as he fired shots along the way.

"He was fully intent on what he did," said Norton.  

“He was going to kill as many of us that day as he could," Johns said.

Plank had to be stopped, and as he pulled up to Tinker Air Force Base, he was. Authorities rushed in with a stun gun and restraints to stop a suspect who'd killed one of their own. 

"Sargeant Bobby Swartz wasn't just a fellow co-worker, he was one of my best friends," Johns said. “We've been through thick and thin together."

Through the calm and the chaotic, only this time, the thin blue line of protection didn't hold.

"It is with great sorrow that we mourn the passing of Bobby Swartz who served the community for 25 years... Rest easy, sir. your brothers and sisters in blue will take it from here," a dispatcher said over the airwaves to commemorate Sgt. Swartz's ‘last call.’

Swartz joined the ranks of fallen officers honored for their sacrifice at the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial near Northeast 36th and Martin Luther King Boulevard.

At last check, Dep. Johns is still recovering from the injuries that he sustained during the attack.

Meanwhile, his partner, Dep. Norton is back on the job and facing the same set of dangers to continue their important work.

Next Wednesday, Aug 9th on News 9 at 10 p.m., we ride along with deputies for a firsthand look at the risks associated with civil enforcement.

We'll hear from Dep. Norton and Oklahoma County Sheriff Tommie Johnson as they explain the changes being made to prevent future tragedies.