Oklahoma officials say pastor killed by troopers had shoved one to ground

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jun/01/oklahoma-nehemiah-fischer-pastor

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The Oklahoma Highway Patrol said Monday that a man shot and killed by authorities on a flooded highway grabbed a trooper and shoved him to the ground, offering details of the deadly confrontation for the first time since his family questioned the initial police account of the incident.

Nehemiah Fischer, an assistant pastor in Tulsa, was fatally shot Friday by troopers after they helped him and his brother, Brandon Fischer, when their truck became trapped by floodwaters. Police did not initially release much information about the incident, saying only a “confrontation” had occurred.

His wife, Laura, told local media over the weekend that her husband and his brother “would not have gone after the trooper”. A friend, Mike Haesloop, told the Guardian that Fisher was “not the kind of guy that’s going to pull a gun on anybody”.

On Monday, OHP spokesman Paul Timmons said that when ordered to get out of the floodwaters on Friday, the Fischers walked toward the troopers and Nehemiah Fischer shoved one trooper to the ground. Fischer then was shot.

Timmons showed video of the incident, but only one trooper is visible after the scuffle begins. His gun was raised, and OHP is investigating how many shots were fired.

Timmons told the Guardian that a gun was recovered from Fisher’s body. “I can’t verify whether it was being brandished but the deceased individual did have a handgun,” he said. Brandon Fischer was arrested for assault and public intoxication.

On Monday, Fischer’s father, JR Fischer, told the Associated Press that Nehemiah Fischer was not capable of violence and respected law enforcement, and was a man of God who studied the Bible daily.

Tom Dart and Alan Yuhas contributed reporting