Carlos Carson, 36, was fatally shot in the early afternoon of June 6, 2020, in the parking lot of the Knights Inn motel in Tulsa, Oklahoma. A father of three and a motel guest, Carson reportedly had a dispute with the motel manager over vandalism to his vehicle. Security guard and former Tulsa County sheriff’s sergeant Christopher Straight, 53, confronted Carson.

Surveillance footage shows Straight, from inside his pickup, using pepper spray on an unarmed Carson as he walked by with a cup of coffee; Carson then threw the coffee and moved toward the truck. During a physical altercation that followed, Straight shot Carson in the head. Carson was pronounced dead at the scene. Straight was taken into custody, told investigators he used spray to deter and detain Carson for trespassing, and was charged on June 10, 2020, with first-degree manslaughter and later released on $50,000 bond.

Carson’s family described him as a family man working to overcome mental health challenges. The case also raised questions about oversight of private security guards and noted allegations of prior misconduct by Straight and a social media post he made the day before dismissing the Black Lives Matter movement.

If anyone has information about the June 6 encounter or witnessed events at the Knights Inn that day, please share what you know.