Officer awarded for efforts in garnering leads for unsolved February shooting

The work of a Lawton Police Officer in an unsolved February shooting has led to new information and an award for his work.

In April, Lawton Police Officer Drake Seymour was awarded the Lawton Police Department Certificate of Merit Award.

Seymour’s award stems from an investigation that began the night of Feb. 6 when a male victim was found suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, according to Sgt. Christopher Blessing, Lawton Police information officer. The man was taken to a hospital for medical treatment.

The man was walking home when a car approached him and gunshots were fired from the vehicle, Blessing stated. No arrests have been made at this time.

Detectives from the Criminal Investigation Division were called out to work the incident and Seymour canvased the nearby homes for surveillance footage from security cameras. He was successful in finding video footage of the shooting and was able to have the homeowner send the video immediately to the investigator securing critical evidence that could have otherwise been lost, due to time, according to Blessing.

“Thanks to Officer Seymour’s diligent efforts obtaining that surveillance footage in a timely manner, the case was strengthened and has been critical in identifying a suspect vehicle,” he said. “Investigators had no viable leads prior to receiving the surveillance footage.”

Seymour’s award cites his hard work and willingness to go above and beyond to assist in any way he can on investigations.

Anyone with information about the incident contact the Lawton Police Department, 580-581-3272; or, if you wish to remain anonymous, you can contact Crime Stoppers of Southwest Oklahoma, 580-355-4636.