FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 18, 2024

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma County Grand Jury recommended no charges be filed against a Del City police officer accused of shooting Demetrize Carter at the Choctaw football game in August 2023. The grand jury heard testimony from 10 witnesses and reviewed 41 exhibits related to the incident. After reviewing the evidence and hearing testimony, the panel determined a use-of-force expert was not necessary for the grand jury’s deliberation.

Upon completion of their deliberations, the grand jury concluded that the officer should not be charged. After reviewing this use-of-force investigation, the panel issued the following recommendations for all law enforcement agencies in Oklahoma County, as well as all school districts located in Oklahoma County:

1. Law enforcement agencies should review the policies and procedures regarding activating body-worn-camera (BWC) and ensure uniformed personnel have functioning BWC that activates in a timely manner.
2. In a multi-agency response such as the Choctaw Football shooting, a lead law enforcement agency should be selected in a swift and concise manner, and that agency should coordinate personnel and assignments for responding agencies throughout the investigation.
3. The Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office should invest in technology that allows their technical investigator (crime scene investigator) to produce an accurate scene sketch with a legend and evidence item key, and real-life photographs should be taken at the scene. Multiple technical investigators should respond to a scene as large as a football stadium; if the technical investigator requests access to the scene for further processing, they should not be prohibited from doing so; detectives on scene should help identify key evidence to process for DNA and latent prints; and all personnel handling evidence should be adequately equipped with gloves.
4. A cross departmental and jurisdictional training program should be implemented that specifically addresses and provides training with how to respond to and investigate a scene similar to the Choctaw football game shooting; and those involved with the Choctaw football game investigation should receive further training on crime scene processing and investigative techniques.
5. When law enforcement is requested for a school extracurricular activity, there should be a briefing before the event between all the law enforcement attending the event to discuss and plan for any issues that may arise.
6. All schools districts should implement additional security measures for all extracurricular school events to include student identification for entry, metal detectors and operable surveillance video systems directed at the event and parking lots.

ABOUT THE GRAND JURY

The Oklahoma County Grand Jury was convened in October 2023. The grand jury has the power to inquire into all offenses that occur in the county and either indict or no bill the offending individual. Grand jury proceedings are confidential by law. Title 21 Section 583 states:

“Every grand juror, district attorney, clerk, judge or other officer who, except when required by a court, willfully discloses any evidence adduced before the grand jury or anything which he himself or any member of the grand jury may have said, or in what manner any grand juror may have voted on a matter before him, is guilty of a misdemeanor.”

Specific questions regarding what investigations are being presented to the grand jury, what witnesses were called, what testimony was given, or evidence presented cannot be answered until the District Attorney’s Office is ordered to do so by the Court.Regarding Tuesday’s law enforcement response to the Attorney General’s Office, based on initial information, it appears a group of individuals became aware of the confidential proceedings. Those individuals had no reason to be at the AG’s Office that day. Their presence led to the altercation that occurred in the parking lot. Quick action by law enforcement prevented the situation from escalating. The DA’s Office would like to extend our gratitude to all the law enforcement agencies that responded on Tuesday.

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