| Updated: 1/30 11:22 am |
Published: 1/29 2:47 pm
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The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation says an off-duty police officer shot and killed a man who had been handcuffed by officers at a motel in Pryor.
OSBI spokeswoman Jessica Brown says the Salina officer said he was returning fire when he shot Will Perneau shortly after 2 a.m. Tuesday.
Brown says the officer and deputy went to the motel after finding drugs in a vehicle that was stopped for a traffic violation. Carl Thomas and Robert Rowbotham were arrested on drug charges and one of the men in the vehicle said he was meeting others at the motel.
The officers' names were not released. The Mayes County Sheriff's Department asked the OSBI to investigate.
Mayes County Sheriff Mike Reed told FOX23’s Dontaye Carter on Tuesday that based on information he’s seen he believes the men did the right thing.
"They were fired on, they had no choice,” said Reed. “They were in fear of their life. They had to return fire. I back them 100-percent."
Reed says he called on OSBI to prove it with their investigation.
"I popped up out of bed. My friend, my roommate thought it was someone banging on the door, I said no that's gunshots, said Christopher Fields, who was staying in a room four doors down from the shoot-out.
“I heard gunshots approximately four to six shots," he said.
Fields says that shooting happened on the second floor of the Days Inn.
"When I opened the door a police officer said the perpetrator had a weapon, a gun," Fields said.
Sheriff Reed says investigations like this are never easy.
"It's hard you know you have family members involved on both sides,” said Reed. “Our heart goes out to them. You don't wish this on anyone."
The officer and deputy are on paid administrative leave until the OSBI’s investigation is complete.
Perneau was serving a suspended sentence for a drive-by shooting in Wagoner County and possession of meth in Tulsa County.
