Oklahoma DA Jason Hicks
By Steve Pomper
Today, I’m coming to you from the twilight zone (insert music here). I’m forced to watch daily the debacle happening in my former Seattle Police Department, and the conquered/surrendered East Precinct (now located in the paradise of Chaz or Chop or Durkanistan), where I was assigned for more than two decades.
Now, I’m following up on a shape-shifting Oklahoma prosecutor who’s been attempting to prosecute Blackwell P.D. Lt. John Mitchell for murder and manslaughter—for doing his job. Coincidentally, in Georgia, it appears police officers of the Atlanta P.D. have walked off the job after the prosecutor charged one of their officers with First Degree Murder (possible death penalty case) for doing his job.
When I read a recent Facebook post from that amorphous Oklahoma district attorney that you can read here, if I didn’t know who’d written it, I’d have been pleased with the fine words of a kindred spirit. It conveyed the camaraderie most district attorneys enjoy with law enforcement officers.
But I knew who’d written it when I read it. Oklahoma District Attorney Jason Hicks wrote those touching words. But can he possibly mean them, or is he up for reelection, or does he suffer from schizophrenia?
The district attorney I’ve become familiar with, since I began covering Lt. John Mitchell’s court case for the NPA last December, which stems from an incident that occurred back in May 2019, could not possibly have written these words with any sincerity.
Here is a brief summary of the incident from NPA’s most recent update of Lt. Mitchell’s case, “Lt. John Mitchell and another officer shot and killed a woman who’d been driving her pickup through town, shooting out of her window at objects and people, including her mother and the police.”
Thousands of people have flocked to support Lt. Mitchell on Facebook and elsewhere. His police department believed in him so much they recently offered him a non-street assignment despite no resolution to the case, which he accepted.
One of Lt. Mitchell’s staunchest supporters is the Oklahoma FOP president. Here he is commenting from the first article NPA published on this insidious prosecution:
“According to Oklahoma Fraternal Order of Police President Jason Smith, ‘A grand jury indicted a Blackwell police lieutenant for murder for killing an active shooter, and the state’s police union is questioning why the district attorney held back evidence from the indictment.’ He added, ‘I’ve yet to see in American history when an active shooter was taken out by a police officer or civilian who was then charged with murder—murder isn’t defined by that in America.’”
The murder charge has since been dismissed, but the charge of manslaughter, despite no evidence a crime by any police officer having even occurred, remains. The CCP Virus slowed an already grueling legal system pace, and Lt. Mitchell’s next of a seemingly unending list of court dates is scheduled for July 14, 2020.
In DA Hicks’ FB post, he wrote, “After watching the abuse being heaped on my brothers and sisters in blue, I can no longer remain quiet.” He’s one of the many political officials heaping the abuses. Can anyone be this un-self-aware?
He also wrote, “They are the ones who will run into a school when a shooting starts to put an end to the situation.” Except for occurring on Blackwell, Oklahoma’s streets instead of in a school, Lt. Mitchell did precisely the same thing. He and his partner put an end to the situation.
Perhaps DA Hicks could put an end to this hypocrisy and stop trying to destroy this good man—today!
Research: https://www.facebook.com/jason.hicks.395/posts/2968447103191422
https://www.ok.gov/dac/District_Attorneys/Jason_Hicks/index.html
https://www.marlowreview.com/articles/6900/view (other use of force case)
https://nationalpolice.org/justice-for-blackwell-pd-lt-john-mitchell/ (Dec. 13, 2019)
https://nationalpolice.org/blackwell-p-d-lt-john-mitchell-still-charged-with-murder-update/ (Jan 3, 2020)
https://nationalpolice.org/the-lt-john-mitchell-saga-continues-latest-update/ (May 7, 2020)