Tulsa and Muscogee Nation police shot and killed a man early Saturday morning following a pursuit with gunfire that stemmed from a routine traffic stop.
According to statements from the departments, the man fled a Muscogee Nation Lighthorse police officer who tried to pull him over for a routine traffic stop around 3:30 a.m. Saturday near 61st Street and Riverside Drive. The man led the officer and Tulsa police on a pursuit and fired multiple shots as he fled, according to a Tulsa Police Department news release.
The man reportedly drove into Rose Hill Cemetery, 4161 E. Admiral Place, after Tulsa police deflated his tires. The officers shot the man in the cemetery when he didn't follow their commands as he held a handgun and shotgun, the release states.
Police had not identified the man Tuesday.
The Tulsa officers who shot at the man and Lighthorse officer are on administrative leave as authorities investigate the shooting. Tulsa police have declined to release the names of the officers who shot at the man until prosecutors make a decision on the shooting, TPD Capt. Richard Meulenberg said Tuesday.
Public Radio Tulsa has requested all of TPD's available bodycam and dashcam footage from the pursuit and shooting.
When asked the exact reason for the traffic stop and why the officer pursued the man, Muscogee Nation press secretary Jason Salsman said Lighthorse police weren’t sharing additional information Tuesday due to the ongoing investigation.
Meulenberg said the man did not follow officers' commands before they shot him because he "exited the vehicle with weapons in hand, after firing upon officers previously, and did not drop the weapons."
