OKLAHOMA CITY -- An Oklahoma City police officer is on paid administrative leave after he shot and killed a deaf man Tuesday night.
Police spokesman Capt. Bo Mathews said Magdiel Sanchez, 35, was shot and killed about 8:15 p.m. at a home in the 220 block of SE 57 after he allegedly approached officers with a pipe.
Mathews said the shooting started after police had been notified of a hit-and-run wreck near SE 57 and Shields Boulevard. A witness at the scene told officers the driver fled and the vehicle was spotted at 229 SE 57.
Lt. Matthew Lindsey arrived at the scene and encountered Sanchez, who was holding a 2-foot-long pipe in his right hand on the porch of the home. Lindsey called for backup and Sgt. Christopher Barnes responded.
Mathews said Lindsey had a Taser drawn and Barnes had a handgun pointed at Sanchez as they ordered him to drop the pipe. Witnesses at the scene were yelling at the officers that Sanchez was deaf, but Mathews said it was unknown if the officers heard them.
Both officers fired their weapons after Sanchez began to approach them. Mathews said Sanchez was about 15 feet away from the officers when he was shot. Witnesses said the Taser deployed at the same time Sanchez was hit by the gunfire.
Neither officer was injured. Sanchez was pronounced dead at the scene a short time later.
Mathews said neither of the officers had a body camera equipped, adding that Lindsey is a supervisor and was not outfitted with one and Barnes may not have had one issued.
Sanchez’s father, the suspected driver in the hit-and-run, confirmed to officers that his son was deaf. Sanchez was not in the vehicle and had no known criminal history, Mathews said.
Barnes, an 8-year veteran of the Oklahoma City Police Department, has been placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation into the shooting. The findings of the investigation will be presented to the Oklahoma County District Attorney’s office to determine if the shooting was justified.
This is the fifth officer-involved shooting in Oklahoma City this year, police report.
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