When you call authorities for help, they’re supposed to listen but that’s one sense that was off during this whole encounter. As Oklahoma police were investigating a hit and run, neighbors yelled out, “He can’t hear you,” as they fatally shot Magdiel Sanchez all because he looked suspicious.
After reading how this all unfolded, you’ll soon wonder if there’s something in the water that certain law enforcement drinks. But alas, here we are with yet another case in which cops messed up big time. The police were called as a hit and run was reported and it was conveniently located in front of the victim’s home.
When authorities arrived at Sanchez’s home investigating a hit-and-run, they found him on the porch carrying a metal walking stick. With little warning and as neighbors looked on shouting that he couldn’t hear them because he was deaf, one officer fired multiple shots at Sanchez.
Either the neighbors weren’t loud enough or the officers just chose to ignore it but the keyword here is shouting so it’s safe to say that it was meant for all to hear.
The Associated Press reported that police officers Sgt. Chris Barnes and Lt. Matthew Lindsey arrived at Sanchez’s home after a car parked in the driveway matched the description of a vehicle involved in a hit-and-run near the neighborhood. However, Sanchez was not in the car when the accident occurred, his father was driving and had fled the scene of a collision that did not involve another person.
His walking stick is what perhaps made him a target as they considered a weapon.
As Sanchez walked towards them, Barnes fired multiple shots at him and Lindsay fired his Taser. Both officers weren’t wearing body cameras.
One witness, Jolie Guebara, later said that Sanchez carried the stick when he walked at night. “He always had a stick that he would walk around with, because there’s a lot of stray dogs,” Guebara told the AP, adding that she heard five or six shots.
As expected, this case is being investigated but it’s being looked at as a homicide. Barnes is currently an administrative leave till the investigation is over.