The Many Guns of Benjamin Plank

 Meanwhile, here in Oklahoma City things took a deadly turn on Monday. Three Oklahoma County Sheriff's deputies showed up late in the morning, or early that afternoon at a house in southwest OKC. They went there to serve an eviction notice to one, Benjamin Plank. The deputies weren't there at the behest of some greedy bank, or cold blooded lending institution.. They had arrived because Mr. Plank's mother wanted him out of her place and he wouldn't leave. As you can guess Ben Plank took umbrage with all this.  He opened fire on the deputies with an AR-15 style assault rifle, killing, Sgt. Bobby Swartz and severely wounding deputy Mark Johns. The third deputy, who still hasn't been identified was unharmed.  

Apparently the trouble began in July when Plank's mom claimed her son had grown verbally abusive and increasingly irrational. He also had lots of guns he'd carry around inside of the house, while occasionally saying he should just, end it all. In short, she realized her son had become crazier than a bed bug on the brown acid.

Understandably dear old Mom became frightened and around the first of August asked for and got an eviction notice for her kid. Plank, who is 35, ignored it. In fact, one day while his mother was out he disabled the garage door opener and used the deadbolts on the doors in order to keep her out of her own home.

After that incident Plank's mom returned to court. On August 12th she secured a Victim's Protection Order which not only banned her kid from the home, but ordered him to surrender his weapons to the authorities prior to a hearing. 

It was at that point things got muddled. According to an Oklahoma law, endorsed by Governor, Kevin Stitt and passed by a legislature with the collective IQ of tree moss, no one can seize the guns of a person, no matter how bat shit crazy until after a competency hearing. Stitt calls this due process--you know--for heavily armed homicidal maniacs. 

So far officials aren't saying the anti red flag law is what caused the situation. When asked why Plank still had the guns on hand, OKC Police Chief, Wade Gourley responded with, "Our department doesn't do that. No one thought to ask Oklahoma County Sheriff Tommy Johnson the same thing. Later, Gourley amended his statement by saying, "There was something wrong with the VPO.

Well yeah, it was in violation of Stitt's fucking law.

It remains unclear at this time if Swartz and his partners knew of the gun snafu, or not. Apparently they were there to evict Plank from the premises and nothing more. 

Whatever the case after the shooting Ben Plank escaped the scene in his pickup truck, with his boat in tow--hey, a captain always stays with his ship. What followed was a high speed chase up I-35 which turned into a rolling gunfight as Plank traded shots with at least two different OKCPD officers. He headed east on I-40, perhaps thinking of all those lakes in eastern Oklahoma, then took the Air Depot exit in Midwest City. He turned south, either by design, or accident and ran smack dab into the most heavily guarded gate at Tinker Air Force Base. 

At that point Benjamin Plank threw his rifle out the window, exited the truck, and dropped his shorts, presumably so police could see he didn't have any concealed weapons. After being gang tackled by about a half dozen cops and, according to Gourley, tased he was carted off, first to a hospital, then the county lockup where he now sits. Gourley told the media his boat contained a bag full of guns and ammo and investigators found other weapons at the home. "He was going to shoot the first law enforcement officers he saw, no matter what the uniform," the chief said.

Right.

Swartz's funeral is Friday. It has been reported Johns is in for a long hospital stay and extensive rehab. The third deputy is on leave and Sheriff Johnson describes her as, "really shook up." 

No one is asking how, or when Benjamin Plank got his arsenal of weapons. Why should they? This is America for God's sake. Guns and ammo are easier to purchase than bananas. The real question now, is why he still had them and if Kevin Stitt, who is running for re-election, enabled him to do so. 

The problem being, no one in the Oklahoma City right wing leaning media wants to ask it.

8-24-22