Oklahoma City police department sees first line-of-duty killing in 87 years
Oklahoma City Police Chief Wade Gourley remembers fallen officer Sgt. Bobby Swartz and says anti-police rhetoric must stop
Oklahoma City Police Chief Wade Gourley raised awareness of the dangers perpetuated by anti-police rhetoric after Sgt. Bobby Swartz was killed Monday, marking the first line-of-duty killing the department has seen in 87 years.
"Our officers had responded to this address about five times fairly recently," Gourley told "Fox & Friends First" host Carley Shimkus on Thursday. "The incidents we were responding to were related to the mother of the suspect trying to evict the suspect from her home."
Officers went to the scene to conduct the eviction as requested when the suspect opened fire from inside the home, killing Swartz and injuring one of two other deputies.
Gourley says the suspect's intention was to murder police officers from the beginning.
Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Sergeant Robert "Bobby" Swartz killed in line of duty. (Fox News)
"Through our interview with him and through evidence in the house, he knew this [eviction process] was coming… and he was very determined that, whatever law enforcement… whoever showed up at that house, he was going to take deadly action, and he did," he said.
Gourley went on to share that the suspect is currently detained in the Oklahoma County Detention Center on various charges, including for the murder of one officer and the attempted murder of two others.
The officer injured at the scene, Deputy Mark Johns, came out of surgery on Tuesday and is in stable condition.
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"I think a lot of the rhetoric against police has got to stop. I feel like there's people out there who feel like they're justified in committing acts of violence against police, and it's happening more and more," Gourley added.
He also noted his department's struggle to recruit more officers, blaming violence enacted against officers as well as anti-police rhetoric as the culprits.