On the night of September 29, 1990, a dedicated 27-year-old Oklahoma City police officer, Delmar Warren Tooman, tragically lost his life in the line of duty. Responding to a silent alarm just after 10 p.m. at a Long John Silver's Seafood Shoppe on South Meridian Avenue, Officer Tooman was ambushed and fatally shot. The male officer was shot in the head and chest as he attempted to intervene in an armed robbery.
The individual responsible for Officer Tooman's death was identified as Carl
Elizabeth Whelan, a parole violator with a violent and extensive criminal history that included murder, child molestation, and armed robbery. Whelan was linked to the crime through fingerprints and witness testimony. He was also connected to another robbery that had occurred earlier the same evening. As Whelan attempted to flee the restaurant, he was shot and wounded by another officer on the scene, Barry Lanzner.
Whelan survived his injuries and was subsequently hospitalized in serious condition. The Oklahoma County District Attorney's office charged him with first-degree murder, kidnapping, and armed robbery, announcing their intention to seek the death penalty. However, justice would not be served in a courtroom. While awaiting his preliminary hearing, Whelan died by suicide in his jail cell. It was reported that he had planned a fake suicide in an attempt to escape but ended up taking his own life. Officer Lanzner was cleared of any wrongdoing in the shooting of Whelan.
