Lawton, Oklahoma Cops Robert Hinkle and Nathan Ronan charged with Manslaughter in Quadry Sanders death

Two Lawton, Oklahoma police officers were charged with first-degree manslaughter Friday after they fatally shot an unarmed Black man who was obeying their orders to get on the ground and raise his arms.

Comanche County District Attorney Kyle Cabelka said his office has determined that the shooting of Quadry Sanders by officers Robert Hinkle and Nathan Ronan was unfounded “after reviewing the entire case file.”

Hinkle and Ronan arrived at the Sanders home shortly after 8:30 p.m. on December 5 following a call about a man, subject to a protective order, entering the home of a woman named in the order. The woman’s husband was also at home at the time, and officers can be heard speaking in body-cam footage released Friday.

Footage shows officers parked outside the woman’s home, trying to call into her husband’s cell phone. An officer can be heard saying that police were called to the previous address, and that the person inside had a handgun. A dispatcher then told officers that the husband said he was ready to leave.

via Instagram / S. Lee Merritt

Police used a megaphone to try to communicate with Sanders, which seemed to work. Moments later, he emerged from a back door, causing Hinkle to approach him while repeatedly shouting “hands!” and down!”

Sanders can then be seen on the body-cam taking a step back, partially hiding behind the refrigerator, while simultaneously raising his hand. But the officer fired four times – just seconds after Sanders left the house. Sanders is holding what appears to be a white baseball cap.

Even as Sanders lay screaming on the ground, he managed to sit up and raise his hand again. The officer shot seven more times. It matches the medical examiner’s report, which said Sanders was shot 12 times.

Sanders was unarmed and there were no weapons anywhere near him, but officers still handcuffed him as he lay dead on the sidewalk.

Warning: Graphic footage

The Sanders family’s attorney, S. Lee Merritt, said in a statement that Quadry got into a dispute with his girlfriend and police were called.

“When they encountered Sanders, they instructed him to put his hands on which he obeyed,” Merritt wrote on Instagram. “While holding hands in the air, Hinkle fired four shots at Sanders. When he fell to the ground, he was instructed to put his hands back [in] atmosphere. In doing so, he was fired 13 more times. This is a murder. We must have justice.”

In a GoFundMe, Sanders’ family appealed for donations to help him rest and “remove his children from the custody of the state.”

“My thoughts and prayers are with the parents and those in our community who have lost loved ones in Quadry Sanders,” Lawton Mayor Stan Booker said in a statement.

“While this decision and the subsequent release of information may provide clarity to this tragic event, it cannot help but affect one’s period of grief and mourning for a loved one. lost.”