Oklahoma Officer to Stand Trial for Killing Dane Scott: Police Captain says Black Teen was Unarmed, Not a Threat

Associated Press /The Daily Oklahoman An Oklahoma County judge ordered a Del City police officer Monday to stand trial in the death of an 18-year-old black teen who was shot following a vehicle pursuit earlier this year.  The decision came at the end of a preliminary hearing for Capt. Randy Harrison, who is charged with first-degree manslaughter in the March 14 death of Dane Scott Jr.

According to a police affidavit filed in the case, "Scott was unarmed and was not posing a threat of death of great bodily harm to the officers or any other person."

In the affidavit, Del City police Capt. Jody Suit said Harrison took a gun away from Scott during a struggle before Scott ran off, the affidavit shows. Officer Steve Robinson, one of the officers at the scene, testified that he didn't see anything in Scott's hands after the teen scuffled with Harrison. Robinson said he fired his stun gun at Scott. "He didn't make a move or turn toward me," Robinson said.

A utility worker also testified that he saw a police officer wrestle the gun away from Scott and saw Scott run before he was shot by the officer. As Scott ran away, Harrison fired three times and missed, but a fourth shot struck Scott in the back according to court documents. Witnesses to the shooting claim Scott Jr. was running away from police officers with his hands in the air when police fired at the teen. A clerk at a nearby convenience store reports hearing “about 4, 5, 6” shots. The clerk states, “It was like being on a firing range.” [MORE]

The chase began when police tried to stop a vehicle for a traffic violation. The car, which had three occupants including Scott, fled and then collided with a tractor-trailer. Harrison's attorney, Irven Box, said his client would surrender Friday to authorities at the Oklahoma County jail.

Harrison is now facing a 1st degree charge of manslaughter. According to court documents, Harrison willingly, unlawfully and unnecessarily killed Scott as he was resisting an officer. [MORE]   Officers at the scene say they saw Scott with a gun. But court documents show he was unarmed.

After the shooting, Scott's family told News 9 that their son should not have run, but he didn't deserve to be killed. The Medical Examiner's office told the Scott family that Scott died from a gunshot wound to his back.