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Tulsa County DA Not Charging Officers Who Shot Mentally Ill Man Armed With Knives

Tulsa Police

Officers who shot and killed a mentally ill man at a north Tulsa convenience store in June will not face criminal charges.

Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler said his office found no criminal wrongdoing by Tulsa Police Officer Donnie Johnson or Tulsa County Sheriff's Deputies William Ramsey and Brandon Walker.

The officers encountered 29-year-old Joshua Barre on June 9 while he was walking along a street carrying two large knives. They tried to convince Barre to drop the knives, then tried to subdue him with a stun gun.

When Barre went into a nearby convenience store still carrying the knives, the officers shot him.

A police internal investigation completed earlier found Johnson, Ramsey and Walker didn't commit a crime.

Matt Trotter joined KWGS as a reporter in 2013. Before coming to Public Radio Tulsa, he was the investigative producer at KJRH. His freelance work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times and on MSNBC and CNN.