Dallas Horton, a reported white “survivalist,” shot a Black police chief in a Western Oklahoma town four times during a raid. Amazingly, Mr. Horton was not charged in the shooting and walked free.
Louis Ross, the chief for Sentinel Police, was shot three times in the chest and once in the arm by the 29-year-old Horton after the force responded to a bomb threat. Ross, who was wearing a bulletproof vest that was loaned to him, most certainly escaped death thanks to the charity of his fellow officer.
Horton reportedly made a 911 call and allegedly told the dispatcher that a bomb was left at the Sentinel Community Action Center in the early morning hours of Jan. 15.
Sentinel Police stormed the address of where the call was placed after confirming there was no bomb as the community center, which also houses a Head Start program. The Oklahoman reports that the Oklahoma Highway Patrol bomb squad was involved in the investigation and Chief Ross and deputies from the Washita County sheriff’s office stormed the home.
The Oklahoman has more:
Agents with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said the man who shot the chief was released after hours of questioning when they determined they didn’t have enough evidence to arrest him.
“Facts surrounding the case lead agents to believe the man was unaware it was officers who made entry,” OSBI wrote in a news release.
On Horton’s now deactivated Facebook page, he posted a series of messages around the same time of the 911 call that could be considered racist and filled with paranoia. One of the status updates, according to Gawker, compared America to Nazi Germany and another reveealed Horton calling slain Ferguon, Mo. “a thug” and complained that the White House sent an official to his funeral.
The Oklahoma State Bureau Of Investigation says Horton is cooperating with authorities and was released shortly after he was detained. Although the OSBI said Horton was unaware, Think Progress noted that Ross and his team announced their presence before entering the home.
Questions remain in the case as the investigation is still ongoing. However, one has to wonder what the outcome would have been if the race roles were reversed given the climate of police relations with the public these days.
—
Photo: Facebook/Raw Story
