City Manager and Mayor Statements, 5-6-2022
PUBLISHED 5/6/2022
CITY MANAGER STATEMENT
On Dec. 5, 2021, the Lawton Police Department received a call to 1806 NW Lincoln. This call resulted in the loss of life of Quadry Sanders. As with past officer-involved shootings, the Lawton Police Department turned the investigation over to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.
The Lawton Police Department’s Internal Affairs division conducted and completed its own administrative investigation into the matter. On Jan. 7, 2022, at the conclusion of the administrative investigation, City Manager Michael Cleghorn, upon careful consideration terminated the employment of officers Nathan Ronan and Robert Hinkle. It is important to note that the City’s administrative investigation and actions taken, were separate and distinct from the investigation conducted by the OSBI. The OSBI investigation was a criminal investigation while the City’s investigation was administrative.
Today, May 6, 2022, the Comanche County District Attorney has released their decision to file criminal charges based on the investigation conducted by the OSBI. The Comanche County District Attorney has charged both Nathan Ronan and Robert Hinkle with Manslaughter in the first degree.
With the investigation completed by OSBI and the Comanche County District Attorney’s filing decision made public, the City of Lawton, in accordance with the Oklahoma Open Records Act, has made the footage from the officer-involved shooting that occurred on Dec. 5, 2021, public and is available on the City of Lawton’s official YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYldmOTGxjhhU5UpYhLk4aw. Please note that this footage may be disturbing for some.
The City of Lawton is releasing this information in tandem with the Comanche County District Attorney’s decision in accordance with the Oklahoma Open Records Act and in continuation with transparency.
Click here to view the official statement.
MAYOR STATEMENT
Today our community has learned of the decision the Comanche County District Attorney has made in the case of the officer-involved shooting that occurred on Dec. 5, 2021, that resulted in the loss of life of Quadry Sanders.
The Comanche County District Attorney has made the decision to criminally charge former officers Nathan Ronan and Robert Hinkle with Manslaughter in the first degree. This decision comes from the Comanche County District Attorney after the conclusion of the investigation, which was conducted by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.
With the investigation completed by OSBI and the Comanche County District Attorney’s filing decision made public, the City of Lawton, in accordance with the Oklahoma Open Records Act, has made the footage from the officer-involved shooting that occurred on Dec. 5, 2021, public and is available on the City of Lawton’s official YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYldmOTGxjhhU5UpYhLk4aw. Please note that this footage may be disturbing for some.
The City of Lawton is releasing this information in tandem with the Comanche County District Attorney’s decision in accordance with the Oklahoma Open Records Act and in continuation with transparency.
As the Mayor of Lawton, the loss of life in our community is always a difficult matter to grasp. My thoughts and prayers go out to the parents and those in our community who lost a loved one in Quadry Sanders. Although this decision and the releasing of information that followed may provide clarity to this tragic incident, it does not come without impacting one’s stages of grief and mourning of a lost loved one.
I believe the Lawton Police Department holds itself to the highest possible standards, and I know it will continue to do so moving forward.