According to reports on Oklahoma City news media, whether to charge two officers of the Watonga PD is back in the hands of the district attorney here.
The reports indicate the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation has concluded its deep dive into the confrontation that took place in the early morning of July 4.
Video shows a man, later identified as John Sexton, walking with his young son. One officer asks for identification, which Sexton did not have on him. The audio of the clip indicates the second officer knew the man by name.
The first officer manhandles Sexton to the ground and places him in handcuffs while his son wails in the background.
The results of the OSBI probe into whether the use of force was permissible have now been sent back to the Blaine County District Attorney’ s Office, which will decide whether to issue charges and if so, what those charges should be.
It is not OSBI policy to disclose what the investigation uncovered.
The DA could also send the matter to a grand jury for it to decide whether to indict the officers.
Even if no charges are brought, either or both of the officers could face dismissal from city employment and/or a civil suit, personally or against the city. Karrie Beth Little, Watonga City Manager, had no comment on the conclusion of the investigation.
As of Tuesday afternoon, there had been no change in the status of the officers in question and requests from citizens and even the Blaine County Sheriff to have them placed on leave have not been addressed by the city.
There is no timeline as to whether the charges are filed. Because the situation is volatile, the DA could allow significant time to elapse before taking up the case, some legal experts have claimed. The other side of the coin is that since there has been so much attention on the case, the office could move quickly to pour oil on the turbulent waters.
Requests for comment from the Blaine County District Attorney’s Office and the Blaine County Sheriff's Office were unanswered as of press time.