Mustang officer cleared after killing a man holding gloves during mental health crisis

Yahoo

24-05-2025

WARNING: The video in this story contains graphic material of an officer-involved shooting that may be upsetting to viewers. Discretion is advised.
MUSTANG, Okla. (KFOR) — The Mustang Police Department says one of its own officers has been cleared by state investigators and the local district attorney's office after shooting and killing a man last year during a mental health crisis.
The incident happened on August 22, 2024, just after 7:00 p.m. Mustang Police say officers responded to a call involving a man, Juan Barbosa, reportedly experiencing a mental health crisis. Police say they were told Barbosa had jumped out of a car and was behaving aggressively.
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The first responding officer to the scene, Jazreale Wright, has been with the Mustang Police Department since January of 2023, according to Mustang Chief of Police Mike Wallace. Wright has been CLEET certified since November 2023, when she became a full-time police officer. Wallace says Wright previously worked as a certified private security guard in May 2021.
Wallace shared new video from the call Friday, which shows Wright assessing the situation and interviewing a witness. She is seen at first trying to speak with Barbosa about what's going on, when a witness, identified as Barbosa's nephew by police, has to physically get between them.
Wright is heard in her body camera video telling someone not to touch her, while another voice begs Barbosa to stop.
She is then seen on her body camera and dash camera tasering Barbosa. He falls to the ground for less than a minute, and Wright gives him verbal commands to stay on the ground and put his hands behind his back. Barbosa doesn't comply with Wright's commands and gets up regardless.
Wallace explained Friday that something was wrong with Wright's taser, which allowed the situation to escalate further before another officer could arrive.
'Only one of the two electrical probes impacted the subject, which prevented this from being an effective charge,' said Wallace.
Barbosa is seen on video approaching Wright, holding something in his hand. Wright attempts to use her taser again on Barbosa, but it's not effective. She then proceeds to pull out her firearm. A News 4 employee questioned Wallace Friday about what Barbosa was holding.
'At the time, Officer Wright had no idea what that may have been, as a result of the investigation, it turned out to be some gloves,' said Wallace.
Wright is seen discharging her weapon multiple times before Barbosa falls. Wallace says officers and emergency crews tried to keep him alive, but Barbosa died at the scene. Wallace says the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation was called in to take over the case.
'The results of the OSBI investigation were presented to the Canadian County District Attorney's Office following that review of the investigation,' said Wallace. 'No criminal charges were filed. The Mustang Police Department recognizes Officer Wright was confronted with the rapidly escalating situation in which she was required to make split-second decisions to protect both herself and the safety of those present. She was presented with an individual who behaved in a clearly aggressive manner, refused to obey her commands, and appeared intent on inflicting potentially lethal bodily injury.'
Wallace said Wright's actions were reasonable under the circumstances and that she did not violate any of the department's policies, allowing her to return to work.
He was asked about what he would say to Barbosa's family if they believed the shooting wasn't justified, but Wallace said he wouldn't speak to their thoughts. However, he did offer his condolences, which he made note of doing last year as well.
Wallace was further pressed about when the investigation into Wright wrapped up and when she returned to work. He said the investigation wrapped up at the end of 2024, and Wright returned to work in 2024 as well.
News 4 asked Wallace directly why the department waited so long to share both pieces of information with the general public.
'You know, it takes quite a while to go through the process to, to make sure that all the investigation is done properly and then to actually prepare these types of things, but we felt it important now to get the details of this out,' said Wallace.
News 4 made multiple attempts Friday to speak with Barbosa's family.
First, a News 4 employee asked if the family had been made aware of the news conference. Then, asked if the family would be willing to speak on Barbosa's behalf, since he wouldn't be able to defend any allegations himself. Barbosa's family declined.
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