Dash Cam Video Released After Officers Involved In Shooting Are Cleared

Two Cleveland County deputies are back to work after being involved in a deadly shooting.

Friday, August 1st 2014, 7:38 pm

By: News 9

Dash Cam Video Released After Officers Involved In Shooting Are Cleared

Two Cleveland County deputies are back to work after being involved in a deadly shooting.

The suspect died last month, and the investigation is now over.

The ordeal was all caught on camera.

The Cleveland County District Attorney said these cases are never easy, because a life was lost, but he knew when he saw the evidence that these deputies actions were justified.

A critical piece of that evidence? The dash cam video.

7/5/2014 Related Story: One Suspect Dead, Another In Custody After Officer-Involved Shooting In Norman

July 5 - 8:47 a.m.

Cleveland County Sheriff's Deputy Cody Shobe initiates a routine traffic stop.

The diver of the SUV, Christopher Mormann, pulled into a parking lot near the intersection of 24th Avenue and Boyd Street in Norman, where he then informed the deputies there was a gun and marijuana in the SUV.

A K-9 unit was called to assist.

Minutes later what you see is the passenger of the SUV, Nicholas Popplewell, in the overalls and Mormann in the red shirt sitting on Deputy Shobe’s car.

What you can't hear is Popplewell repeatedly telling deputies he's not going back to jail.

Fast forward almost five minutes, Popplewell attempts to keep that guarantee.

What you hear after... Popplewell runs off, jumps into the driver's seat of a second sheriff's deputy's car and puts it in drive.

One deputy attempted to pull Popplewell from the vehicle. Instead, Popplewell dragged that deputy several feet before crashing into Mormann's SUV.

According to the district attorney, Popplewell then put the car in reverse, threatening the life of that deputy who was then laying on the ground behind the car.

The first pop was the sound of a taser, almost a warning for what the deputies had to do next.

The shots are what killed 27-year-old Nicholas Popplewell.

"In these circumstances, nothing is ever easy," said Cleveland County District Attorney Greg Mashburn. "Someone lost their life, but was it clear, after all the evidence was taken into consideration, that the use of force was justified? Yes."

In the video, you see the driver of the SUV, Mormann, watch everything unfold.

Detectives later found out Mormann did not know Popplewell and had just picked him up for a plumbing job.

Detectives also later discovered Popplewell had three warrants out for his arrest at the time of the incident.