The Tulsa Police Department announced Thursday that it received word from the Tulsa County District Attorney's Office that Officer Jay Chiarito-Mazzarella was justified in using deadly force in the October 15, 2009 shooting of Steven Paul Crowells.
A department spokesman says the shooting will now be presented to the shooting review board to ensure that Tulsa Police Policy was followed during the incident.
Investigators say 37-year-old Steven Crowells died the afternoon of Tuesday, October 27th at St. John's Hospital after being shot Oct. 15 when he tried to back into officer Jay Chiarito-Mazzarella. Police have said the officer tried to stop Crowels after seeing the driver throw an item out of his car window.
Investigators say Crowells refused to stop but eventually lost control of the car and crashed it — then tried to back into the officer who opened fire and hit Crowels several times.
