Oklahoma City Council Approves Settlement in Fatal Police Shooting Case
In a recent meeting, the Oklahoma City Council approved a $1.05 million settlement with the family of Bennie Edwards, a 60-year-old man shot and killed by police officers in December 2020. The incident, which occurred at a strip mall near North Pennsylvania Avenue and Hefner Road, saw officers respond to reports of Edwards allegedly "bothering customers." Upon arrival, officers discovered Edwards was armed with a knife and attempted to de-escalate the situation.
Body-camera footage captured the tense moments leading up to the shooting, with officers repeatedly urging Edwards to drop the knife. The situation escalated when he allegedly rushed towards them, prompting one officer to fire at him. Another officer fatally shot Edwards while he was running away.
Initially, he was charged with manslaughter, but those charges were later dismissed by current Oklahoma County District Attorney Vicki Behenna during a press conference in July 2023. This decision followed growing criticism surrounding police use of force. According to then-Capt. Dan Stewart of the Oklahoma City Police Department, the officers "had no choice" but to discharge their weapons during the incident.
Edwards’s family, who described him as homeless and struggling with mental health issues, pursued a civil case against the city and the involved officers after the criminal charges were dropped. The settlement announcement represents a significant step forward, according to Garland Pruitt, president of the NAACP chapter in Oklahoma City. He emphasized the necessity for improving mental health training for police officers as a critical takeaway from this tragic case.
City officials have remained tight-lipped about the settlement terms, and there has been no comment from the attorneys representing Edwards’s family.
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