CLAREMORE, Okla. — Rogers County Sheriff Scott Walton has worked in law enforcement for more than four decades.
Walton started in 1980 as a patrol officer for the Tulsa Police Department. In 2008 he took over as the Sheriff of Rogers County.
He says after video showed a traffic stop and incident in Pryor, he got several calls from people, wanting to know his thoughts. Walton says he believes the officer did everything correctly.
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"He literally had to turn his back on the people that were videoing him," Walton said. "What if there was a threat behind him? Think of what that poor police officer is doing in the middle of the night, by himself. Without any help. And a lot of people watching ready to criticize."
Walton said dealing with someone who won't comply can be a challenge in itself.
"Let's look at, what if you were the officer? And what are your options? We can't let this guy get back out of the road.
Walton said the next challenge the officer faced, a suspect who wouldn't show his hands — something officers and deputies are trained to ask for.
"Was the officer too close? I mean he needs to be close enough where he can see in the vehicle. I mean the video itself tells a great story, right there, he can't see the guy's hand. He pulls the door back shut for some reason."
As for the criticism the Pryor officer has faced regarding how he was holding his gun, Walton says naturally as an officer moves their body, head, or arm, the gun will change positions.
"Sometimes that changes the way the gun was held."
He says the officer was able to gain control of the situation, and take the suspect down quickly, just as they are trained to do.
"The officer took him down quick, and hard, and you know what, I think it was the way it should have been. It's over with then. That stops a lot of things from happening The quicker the situation is dealt with the better. The more likelihood of good people not getting hurt."
He also says it's important for people to put themselves in law enforcement's shoes.
"The value of this story is the fact that we can better educate people, if they were in this situation, of what goes through this officer's mind. And what should go through his mind is, "I want to go home to my family tonight.'"
Walton says although people might not have liked what they saw in the video, it was a good outcome.
"We saw a situation last night where a bad guy goes to the ground and gets handcuffed. And taken to jail. And everybody goes home, including him."
Walton also says he is glad the Pryor police chief is supporting the officer.
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