In the warm evening of July 9, 2017, a crowd had gathered at Crawford Park in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for a softball game, the air filled with the usual sounds of a Sunday evening competition. Among them was Michael Wayne Daniels, a 49-year-old Black/African American man known affectionately to friends and family as 'Tody Baby' or 'King Tody.' An avid softball player himself, he was often found on the field on Sunday evenings with his team, the 'Church Crashers,' distinguished by his loud orange
socks.
The lively atmosphere at the park took a dark turn as a large disturbance erupted among the dozens of people present. In the ensuing chaos, gunfire rang out, tragically cutting short the lives of Michael Daniels and another bystander, Chantel Mack. The sudden violence left the community in shock and mourning, transforming a place of recreation into a crime scene.
In the aftermath, Tulsa police began an intensive investigation to piece together the events that led to the deadly shooting. Their efforts eventually led them to a suspect, 23-year-old Rickey Ballard. At the time the warrant for his arrest in connection with the murders of Daniels and Mack was issued, Ballard was already in the custody of the Department of Corrections on unrelated charges. The charges brought a measure of progress in a case that had deeply affected the Tulsa community. Michael Daniels, a father to one son, was remembered by his loved ones as the life of the party, a man who never met a stranger and was loved by all who knew him.
