A clip showing the speedy reactions of an Oklahoma officer after a man pointed a gun at his face from point-blank range has gone viral on social media.
The video shows the moment that Noble Police Sgt. Joshua Lesher fired at Layland Ted Lewis Jr. after he pulled a gun on him following a traffic stop in December 2018.
The 6-second clip was shared on Twitter by James LoFranco, the former Mayor of the Village of South Blooming Grove and retired NYPD detective, along with the caption: "This is how fast it happens."
In a follow-up tweet, LoFranco tweeted the pro-police "back the blue" and "blue lives matter" hashtags.
The clip has since been viewed more than one million times, and has been retweeted nearly 7,000 times at time of writing.
It was posted by LoFranco on May 5.
The footage can be seen below, some may find the video disturbing.
This is how fast it happens. pic.twitter.com/BeKs3xaFsO
— James LoFranco (@mayor_jlo) May 5, 2021
The shooting occurred at the 400 block of North 2nd Street in Noble. After being pulled over on his motorcycle, Lewis gave a false name to the sergeant as he was wanted in Cleveland County for armed robbery.
Lesher said his name was Carl Huff, but the police dispatch could not verify this or the date of birth he gave.
Following several minutes of conversation outside a property, the sergeant leads Lewis towards his vehicle in order to properly identify him. After taking a few steps in front of Lesher, Lewis pulls a gun from his inside pocket and aims it towards the sergeant.
Lesher then attempts to grab hold of the gun with one hand, before firing at Lewis three ties using his other hand. Lewis was taken to hospital for treatment to his injuries and later released.
Lesher was not hurt during the incident.
Dash cam footage from inside Lesher's patrol vehicle was later made public as Cleveland County District Attorney Greg Mashburn cleared the sergeant of any criminal wrong-doing over the shooting of Lewis.
After being discharged from hospital, Lewis was released into the custody of the Cleveland County Sheriff and charged with armed robbery.
He was later charged in Cleveland County District Court with assault and battery-felonious with a dangerous weapon in relation to the incident with Lesher.
In July 2020, Lewis was sentenced to 10 years in prison over the assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, which are being served consecutively with the 25 years total sentence he received for the armed robbery offense.
Lesher told the court during sentencing how the shooting still affected him.
"It was very traumatic. I don't want to go through it again," Lesher said, reported The Norman Transcript.
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