Reinstatement Order Issued For 2 Oklahoma Officers Who Fatally Shot An Unarmed Black Man

Two former Oklahoma officers will be reinstated after killing an unarmed Black man.

Former Lawton officers Robert Hinkle and Nathan Ronan were ordered to be reinstated by an arbitrator in the killing of Quadry Sanders in December 2021, according to U.S. News and World & World Report.

The city disagrees with the arbitrator’s order and said, per ABC 7, that officials “disagree with the awards and are disappointed with the outcome.” The statement explained, “It is important for citizens to understand that arbitration proceedings are strictly administrative in nature and that they are limited to administrative violations.”

The statement added, “City Officials acknowledge that in both proceedings, the two arbitrators sustained the former officer’s grievances finding that the officers acted in accordance with their training and within policy,” ABC 7 reported.

Gary James, the attorney for Hinkle and Ronan, said the two officers would also receive back pay. According to U.S. News and World & World Report, “Mr. Sanders made movements that prompted the officers to fire,” said James. He defended the actions of the officers saying the officers saw Sanders reach into his pocket, which prompted the shots,

BLACK ENTERPRISE reported the two officers were fired and charged with manslaughter in 2022 after body camera footage was released. The family’s attorney, Lee Merritt, said in response to the charges, “I can’t find a single redeemable factor that mitigates any aspect of this shooting. It was just murder. There was no justification. These men must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

The deceased man’s mother, Mina Woods, sued Hinkle, Ronan, and the city in a federal lawsuit for wrongful death, according to U.S. News and World Report. The city and officers denied wrongdoing. However, their federal case is pending.

Sanders, 29, was reported as armed inside the home of a person listed on a protective order in 2021. The body camera footage revealed that Sanders was unarmed and had his hands raised above his head when he was shot. Sanders was shot 12 times, per a medical examiner’s report, according to U.S. News and World & World Report.