OK Man Was Stopped For 'Suspicious' Walk With Autistic Son
The Blaine County District Attorney's Office has declined to file criminal charges against a Watonga police officer investigated for his use of force on a man walking with his son in July.
At around 6 a.m. on July 4, John Sexton was walking with his 6-year-old son, who has autism. He was stopped by two officers for suspicious activity before being thrown to the ground and briefly detained.
"Shut up and listen just a minute. We had small enough suspicion to identify you," the officer could be heard saying in body camera video.
"What was I being detained for?" Sexton asked.
"We don't know what you were doing! We can call it criminal activity," the officer said.
His terrified son screamed as he looked on.
Sexton said his son used to want to be a cop, but not anymore. His father was eventually released without charges.
Blaine County sheriff Travis Daugherty office wanted the officers placed on leave, but the DA's office declined to bring charges.
The sheriff's office was inundated with over 200 calls about the incident.