Sand Springs Police Department releases body cam footage from standoff, officer-involved shooting
By: The Sand Springs Police Department shared bodycam video of their encounter with Nathan Burks on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, SSPD requested the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation's help with the investigation after an officer fired his weapon.
Police say officers were called to the store that day for reports of larceny and ultimately got into a standoff with Burks.
Police say Burks fired shots, worried witnesses, and prompted police to shut down a busy highway going into the holiday weekend on Friday.
Nathan Burks was eventually taken into custody and authorities said he will receive a mental health evaluation.
No one was seriously injured after Burks allegedly fired several shots and then barricaded himself inside a dumpster for several hours.
Police say it quickly became a dangerous situation, especially due to the vicinity near Highway 412 and 97.
Witnesses said it's one of the busiest parts of Sand Springs, and it was the Friday evening before Labor Day weekend.
“My wife was getting off work, and I heard shots. What was it, four or five, wasn’t it? So, I went over there to the corner, and they were drawn up on him. So far, it’s just been this since then,” Edward Grady said.
“I just pulled in while they were starting to shoot,” explained Drew Morales, who says he was just pulling into a parking lot to shop.
Police say when they found a shoplifting suspect in the Walmart parking lot, Burks took off.
“They chased him into the dumpster partition that they have on businesses on the end of the parking lot of St. John's Medical Center. And before they went in to go get him, he fired a gun at one of the officers,” Sand Springs Police Chief Todd Enzbrenner said.
Officers say the suspect threatened to kill himself, and that’s when they set a perimeter up along Highway 97, diverting traffic for more than four hours.
“We luckily we had crisis negotiators on scene at the very beginning and got his phone number. We made contact with him on the phone. We've been talking to him the entire time throughout this event,” Enzbrenner said.
Police worried that as the sun set, it would be more difficult for officers to see, so they left Burks with two choices.
“We informed him that it was time to give up, or we were going to start taking measures to force him to give up, and luckily he gave up on his own,” Enzbrenner said.
After about four hours, he was arrested on multiple complaints, including assault and gun charges.