Jury Selection Begins For OKC Officer Charged With Murder

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) —Jury selection has begun in the trial of an Oklahoma City police officer who fatally shot a suicidal man who was apparently trying to set himself on fire.

Sgt. Keith Sweeney is charged with second-degree murder in the November 2017 death of 29-year-old Dustin Pigeon.

The 34-year-old Sweeney was among officers who responded to reports of a suicidal person and found Pigeon doused in lighter fluid and threatening to set himself on fire in a courtyard surrounded by homes.

Prosecutors say Sweeney shot Pigeon after another officer fired a bean bag to no effect. An affidavit says Pigeon was unarmed and did not pose a threat when he was shot.

Pidgeon’s mother, Aronda Pigeon, told The Oklahoman in 2017, “The officer is guilty and I want justice for my son.”