Lawton police release video of man’s arrest

A Lawton man’s mugshot and allegations made by the family led police to release the body camera footage from an Aug. 15 arrest.

On Monday night, a statement from the office of Chief of Police James T. Smith posted to Facebook shared a narrative of the incident as well as the body camera video. The police body camera video also was attached.

Officers received a tip around 5 a.m. Aug. 15, that Robert Charles Rodgers III, 58, had a warrant for his arrest for drug trafficking and that he was at an apartment at 2505 NW Hoover, according to the statement.

Two men were standing on the balcony in front of the apartment Rogers was supposed to be at when an officer recognized him. According to the statement, Rodgers walked down the stairs from the balcony and across the parking lot.

The video begins when an officer identifies himself as police and Rodgers takes off running. The officer in the foot pursuit deployed his Taser causing Rodgers to have a full body lock up while running. Rodgers fell face first onto the ground from his momentum.

Officers placed Rodgers in handcuffs and it was realized he was unconscious and bleeding from his face due to the fall.

Rodgers is heard audibly snoring in the video while being handcuffed; he was lying where he landed, face down in the mix of grass and asphalt, and was bleeding from his nose.

Officers were heard asking if Rodgers was OK. While still unconscious, Rodgers was brought back to a sitting position where he remained but appeared to be wobbling back and forth.

Police found eight baggies containing methamphetamine in Rodgers’ pockets.

One officer who recognized Rodgers took photos of the scene and was heard saying: “Dang, Chicago, you really took a fall there.” At this point, Rodgers appeared to be regaining his facilities as an officer photographed the drugs and asked him, “Is that package for sale?”

There was no response from Rogers. He was taken to Comanche County Memorial Hospital for treatment.

The next day, Rodgers made his initial appearance in Comanche County District Court for charges stemming from the arrest: unlawful possession of a controlled drug with the intent to distribute, possession of drug paraphernalia and obstructing police, records indicate. He was also wanted for a bench warrant from a May 2022 charge of trafficking in illegal drugs. Rodgers is held on separate $75,000 bonds for each case.

The statement and video were released followed social media posts by Rodgers’ family after seeing his mug shot. In it, Rodgers’ faces is swollen and shows other injuries. In the postings, the family accused police of beating the man’s face.