Date of Offense
Offense(s)
Statement
On October 27, 2024, Oklahoma City Police Sergeant Joseph Gibson initiated a traffic stop involving 71-year-old Lich Vu, a man in poor health. During the encounter, Gibson used extreme force, slamming Mr. Vu face-first into the pavement, an act that caused catastrophic injuries including a C1 neck fracture, an orbital fracture, and a brain bleed. Video evidence from the incident showed that Sgt. Gibson was not in danger when he delivered the violent takedown.
Following investigation by Oklahoma City Police Department's Internal Affairs and review by the Oklahoma County District Attorney, Sgt. Gibson’s use of force was deemed both excessive and criminal. On December 5, 2024, District Attorney Vicki Behenna criminally charged Gibson in Oklahoma County District Court (Case No. CF-2024-5696) with aggravated assault and battery.
However, less than a month later, Attorney General Gentner Drummond intervened. On December 27, 2024, Drummond announced that his office was removing the case from the county prosecutor and dismissing all charges against Sgt. Gibson.
In a public statement, Drummond blamed the victim for the incident and justified the officer’s actions as “consistent with their training,” despite clear video evidence to the contrary.
This decision drew immediate criticism from community leaders, civil-rights advocates, and members of the public. It was viewed as a policy-making act that directly undermined Oklahoma’s statutory prohibitions on excessive force, signaling to law enforcement officers statewide that such violence could be excused at the highest level of state authority. The dismissal also overrode the independent judgment of both local prosecutors and police internal affairs investigators, who had determined that Gibson’s actions were unlawful.
The consequences of this intervention have reached the federal courts. Both Gibson and Drummond are now defendants in Vu et al. v. Gibson et al. (Case No. 5:2025-cv-00426), a federal civil-rights lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The complaint alleges that Drummond’s decision to dismiss the charges constituted a policy authorization of excessive force effectively granting law enforcement a shield against accountability.
For Brady purposes, both Sgt. Gibson’s violent misconduct and AG Drummond’s cooperative dismissal of charges are highly material.
Sgt. Joseph Gibson: Demonstrated a pattern of excessive force, disregard for constitutional limits, and caused life-altering injuries to a vulnerable elderly civilian. His credibility, judgment, and integrity are now irreparably compromised in any case where he has served as an arresting officer, witness, or affiant.
Attorney General Gentner Drummond: Demonstrated policymaking misconduct by dismissing charges against an officer despite overwhelming evidence of criminal assault. His statements blaming the victim and his refusal to enforce state law on excessive force reflect bias, obstruction of justice, and cooperative misconduct with law enforcement.
Together, their actions illustrate not only individual failures but also a systemic breakdown in accountability: an officer using unjustifiable violence against a civilian, and the state’s highest legal officer nullifying criminal accountability in the name of “training.”
These actions must be disclosed as Brady/Giglio material in any proceeding involving either Sgt. Gibson or Attorney General Drummond.
We will not stand by as our brothers and sisters are brutalized, criminalized, and silenced.
We reject a world where the powerful profit from our poverty and our lives are treated as expendable. We will not wait for justice to be handed down from above.
We will organize, resist, and take it for ourselves.
WE ARE NO LONGER ASKING...
#ReformIsNotARequest
