Officer on restrictive duty after stabbing man, Tulsa police say
BY KENDRICK MARSHALL World Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
A Tulsa police officer has been placed on restrictive duty after he stabbed a man who reportedly tried to grab his gun during a traffic stop last week, police said.
Officer Tyler Turnbough, a three-year veteran of the Tulsa Police Department, attempted to stop a vehicle in the 500 block of North Xenophon Avenue about 12:50 p.m. Saturday, said Officer Leland Ashley, a Tulsa Police Department spokesman.
The driver, a 38-year-old man, stopped in the 600 block of North Union Avenue.
After getting out of the vehicle, the man began performing push-ups and then tried to flee when officers used pepper spray in an attempt to subdue him, Ashley said.
During the ensuing struggle, the man tried to grab Turnbough’s gun, and the officer then stabbed him five times with a knife, Ashley said.
The man was taken to a hospital for treatment of injuries that were not life-threatening, Ashley said. His identity will not be released until he is charged, he said.
“The officer was trying to protect himself,” said Ashley, who added that some officers carry knives while on duty. “He was fighting for his life.”
Turnbough, 35, was not injured, Ashley said.
He is expected to remain on restrictive duty until an internal investigation is completed, he said.
