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Owasso Police Officer Pleads Not Guilty in Assault Case

Nowata Police Dashcam

OWASSO, Okla. (AP) — A suspended Owasso police officer accused of striking a motorist with a shotgun has entered a not guilty plea to a felony count of assault and battery with a deadly weapon.

The Tulsa World reports that 50-year-old Lieutenant Michael Dwain Denton entered the plea on Friday in Nowata County District Court.

Denton is charged in connection with the June 14th arrest of Cody Mathews of Glenpool. Mathews was apprehended just south of Nowata following a multicounty high-speed pursuit by authorities.

Last month, Associate District Judge Carl Gibson ordered Denton to stand trial on the felony count. Denton is accused of using the butt of a 12-gauge shotgun to strike Mathews in the head during his arrest.

Denton also faces a misdemeanor count of reckless conduct with a firearm.