Grand jury indicts Oklahoma police lieutenant on murder charge

Nolan Clay | The Oklahoman

OKLAHOMA CITY – A grand jury has found an Oklahoma police lieutenant at fault in the fatal shooting of a road rage suspect during an early morning pursuit.

John Mitchell, 40, is accused in a second-degree murder indictment of causing the death of pickup driver Micheal Ann Godsey by firing approximately 60 rounds at her May 20 in Blackwell about 90 miles north of Oklahoma City.

Grand jurors concluded he acted without justifiable or excusable cause and engaged in "imminently dangerous conduct" toward Godsey. If convicted, he faces at least 10 years in prison.

Godsey, 34, was found dead in the driver's seat of the pickup, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said in May.

Defense attorney Gary James said Mitchell acted lawfully to stop a threat.

"It's a sad day for law enforcement and society," James said.

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The attorney described the suspect as a "violent, fleeing felon."

"She shot at the police twice. She has shot at her mother twice. She has shot at a private citizen. We know she fired other rounds around town. And Mitchell gets in behind her," the attorney said. "He took his AR-15 and he started shooting through the front windshield at her."

The attorney said Mitchell had just completed training on how to deal with an active shooter and was cleared by an independent internal affairs review of the incident.