The Oklahoma Highway Patrol released a portion of a dashboard camera video during a press conference Monday showing a married pastor lunging at a state trooper moments before he was shot dead. Nehemiah Fischer, 35, was gunned down by two officers Friday night near Tulsa after a scuffle.
The release of the dashcam video came after Fischer's father and wife made statements to the media claiming that the assistant pastor was a man of God who was not capable of violence and had deep respect for law enforcement. OHP spokesman Capt. Paul Timmons told reporters at Monday's news conference that Nehemiah Fischer was shot after being ordered to leave a flooded area. Moments before gunfire erupted, Mr Fischer allegedly grabbed a trooper and knocked him to the ground.
In the video, a pair of OHP troopers, identified Monday as Mark Southall and Michael Taylor, are seen repeatedly asking Nehemiah Fischer and his brother, Brandon, to leave a flooded area and seek higher ground. As the siblings tramp through water toward the officers, the assistant pastor attacks one of them, prompting his partner to draw his service weapon.
The attorney representing both troopers further claimed that Mr Fischer had a gun on his hip and held Trooper Southall's head underwater. Both troopers were placed on administrative leave in accordance with OHP's standard practice. Southall has 8 years' experience and Taylor has been on the force for a year. Troopers said they recovered a weapon belonging to Nehemiah Fischer at the scene. J.R. Fischer told the AP that his son had received a .380 handgun for his birthday. Nehemiah was pronounced dead at the scene and Brandon was arrested for assault and public intoxication.
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