Jan. 14—The Oklahoma Department of Corrections said a man on death row for the 2017 murder of an Oklahoma police officer was pronounced dead Tuesday morning in McAlester.
ODOC officials said in a release that Byron Shepard was pronounced deceased early this morning, Tuesday, Jan. 14, at McAlester Regional Health Center.
Shepard was on death row after a Pottawatomie County jury sentenced the man to death for the 2017 murder of Tecumseh Police Officer Justin Terney.
Terney, 22, a native of Canadian, pulled over a vehicle in March 2017 containing Shepard. Shepard ran from the vehicle after Terney learned the man had an outstanding warrant. Terney chased Shepard on foot and used a stun gun, but that failed to stop the man, who then shot at Terney and fatally wounded the officer.
According to McAlester Fire Department radio traffic obtained through Broadcastify, OSP called for medics to respond to the prison at 2:08 a.m. Tuesday morning for a report of an unresponsive inmate with CPR in progress.
ODOC officials said the agency’s Office of Inspector General will investigate the death “per normal procedure.”
“As no physical injury or trauma was observed, the Medical Examiner’s office will determine the official cause of death,” said ODOC’s Public Relations Chief Kay Thompson in a media statement.
After news of Shepard’s death first began to spread on social media, the Tecumseh Police Department said to keep the Terney family “and every officer who was on scene this horrible night in your prayers.”