A Tulsa man who was fatally shot by a police officer during a domestic violence follow-up call Wednesday was a good nephew and devoted father who struggled to cope with the recent loss of a sibling and a tumultuous marriage, a family member said.
“Because of the violent nature” of a domestic violence incident reported Monday at 8829 E. 16th St., Tulsa Police Special Investigations Division officers were following up around 5:20 p.m. Wednesday, when they approached the suspect in his front yard, Officer Demita Kinard said.
During a short conversation, the officers reported that he drew a weapon on them, resulting in shots being fired, Kinard said.
“Be it an officer or an individual citizen, when someone draws a gun on you, that’s a threat,” she said.
Police did not identify the man Wednesday night, but his aunt Nina Ivory said his name was Jason Rogers. He was 35 years old.
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EMSA medics took Rogers in critical condition to St. John Medical Center, where he died, police said.
Two boys were inside the home when the shooting took place, but the woman who reportedly was victimized in the domestic dispute wasn’t at the residence, Kinard said.
Court records indicate that Rogers had 6- and 12-year-old sons. Kinard said the children are with relatives.
Ivory said Rogers’ older brother died about three months ago and that he had a hard time getting over losing a close relative and friend. But she said Rogers had just gotten a new job and seemed happy on the day he died, and she emphasized the impact his death will have on his children.
“He was mowing my lawn and stopped and said, ‘Auntie, I’m going to get the boys from school,’” Ivory said. “It wasn’t even more than an hour (before he was shot) that I last saw him. He wanted to make sure the kids weren’t alone, because that’s the kind of father he was.”
Recent public posts from Rogers on his Facebook page detail conflicts and grievances he had with his wife, with the last post — at 1:41 p.m. Wednesday — stating how happy he was to find a new job and home near his children’s school and discussing his struggles to overcome drug addiction. He also denied abusing either the woman or his children and wrote “I love you” with her name in a post Monday evening.
Court records indicate that the woman filed for an emergency protective order against Rogers on Sept. 3, alleging that he pointed a gun at her and at himself during an argument. A judge dismissed the order Sept. 17 after she failed to appear in court, according to court minutes.
Kinard said Rogers was also accused of pointing the gun at the woman during Monday’s domestic violence incident, prompting detectives to look further into the matter.
Rogers pleaded guilty in Tulsa County to 2008 charges of domestic assault and battery in the presence of a minor and threatening an act of violence, receiving a 1-year county jail sentence and spending 90 days in custody, court records show.
His shooting is unrelated to a homicide that took place in east Tulsa around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday. In that case, a man fatally shot a woman at an apartment complex near 21st Street and Memorial Avenue.
That man remains at large, Homicide Sgt. Dave Walker said Wednesday night.
Samantha Vicent 918-581-8321