Sand Springs Police released new video today that shows the officer’s point of view in a fatal shooting earlier this month.
The department enlisted a computer forensics expert to salvage video from Officer Brian Barnett's malfunctioning body camera. The footage has been turned over to the district attorney’s office for review, but Deputy Chief Mike Carter said it shows the shooting was justified.
"It very clearly shows he made a good decision. He made the decision he had to make," Carter said. "But that — don't ever confuse that with being a decision we want to make."
Donald Allen was fatally shot April 10 after police responded to a complaint he was firing a gun in his yard toward a busy part of town. Allen’s wife told police he was bipolar and off his medication.
Carter said the new video was difficult to watch.
"To know that one of our fellow officers came very, very close to a fatal encounter, it is unnerving," Carter said. "We are glad that he's still here, but we're still also saddened by the loss of Mr. Allen."
The department is looking at new cameras and policy changes in light of the problems with Barnett's camera.
"One of the deficiencies I see in this is actually when you have your arms out, and in this view, we're cutting off part of the relevant information just by the placement of the camera," Carter said. "We're looking at how we can avoid that."
The department says the shooting is Sand Springs' first police shooting in 17 years.
