By D.E. Smoot
Phoenix Staff Writer
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Two Wagoner police officers involved in the fatal shooting of a Coweta man Aug. 16 outside a fast-food restaurant will return to duty today.
District Attorney Brian Kuester ruled Friday the officers’ use of deadly force was justified under the circumstances they encountered.
The use of deadly force by police is justified, Kuester said, if an officer “reasonably believes the ... force is necessary to protect himself or others from the infliction of serious bodily harm.”
“The evidence shows these officers had every reason to believe that had they not used deadly force when they did, Charles W. Hundley would have caused one or both of them serious bodily harm,” said Kuester, chief prosecutor for Adair, Cherokee, Sequoyah and Wagoner counties.
Wagoner Police Chief Bob Haley said Friday he had no doubt Officers Jamie Powell and Kevin Higginbottom acted within the bound of the law.
“I was on the scene and in contact with the officers and the investigators,” Haley said. “It’s unfortunate, but I never felt they could have done anything other than what they did.”
Records show Powell and Higginbottom responded to an emergency call from a McDonald’s employee reporting a disturbance. Upon arriving, they were confronted in the parking lot by Hundley, who was armed with a knife.
According to information provided by the Oklahoma Bureau of Investigation, Kuester said Powell circled a patrol car twice trying to create space between himself and Hundley.
With Hundley in pursuit, Powell told investigators he felt something strike his back and then heard a gunshot. When Powell turned toward Hundley, he noticed the man was holding a knife, then fired his weapon.
Kuester said Higginbottom fired the first shot when he saw Hundley chasing Powell with a knife. The back of Powell’s shirt and the first layer of a protective vest, Kuester said, had a vertical cut consistent with being penetrated by a knife.
“It is a tragedy any time there is loss of life,” Kuester said. “In this situation, the officers did all that could be done to avoid the use of deadly force.”
Hundley, 59, had a history of mental illness. His sister said he recently had quit taking his medication before the fatal shooting outside McDonald’s.
Reach D.E. Smoot at (918) 684-2901 or dsmoot @muskogeephoenix.com.
