James Stutch

James E. Stutchman, a 28-year-old white male from Okmulgee, Oklahoma, died in the early hours of March 6, 2014, after an encounter with police that began as a routine traffic stop and escalated into a fatal officer-involved shooting. He was later memorialized as a victim of gun violence, with online tributes recalling him as “Smoke,” a young father with a good heart whose life was cut short in his hometown.

Shortly after 2 a.m. that Thursday, an Okmulgee police officer tried to pull ...