No charges for OHP Trooper who shot, killed truck driver

CREEK COUNTY, Okla. (KFOR) - The District Attorney for Creek and Okfuskee counties has declined to file charges against the Oklahoma Highway Patrol (OHP) Trooper who shot and killed a truck driver on the Turner Turnpike back in September 2023.

Alejandro Faudoa, 28, was shot eight times during a traffic stop near the Stroud Toll Plaza on September 20, 2023. OHP officials said an altercation took place, prompting Trooper Caleb Swickey to fire his gun.

Weeks later, Faudoa's mother, Livier Quirino Ramirez, told KFOR she was never notified of his death.

“I called her as soon as I could and said, ‘I am Alejandro’s mom.’ I asked her what happened. All she could say was ‘I’m sorry.’ When she told me that, I was scared. All I kept saying was let me know my son is alive. I don’t care about anything else. She told me ‘I’m sorry. He is not alive,’” said Ramirez. “The news was so shocking that I wanted to go crazy, but I tried to calm myself down because my daughter woke up with my screaming and she kept asking why I was crying. I thought he probably flipped over in his trailer but when she told me the police had shot him, the news was even more shocking.”

An OHP spokesperson told KFOR the investigating trooper followed up with Faudoa's emergency contact, who said he had been in contact with the family.

“The investigating trooper also made contact with a woman who said she was the subject’s cousin. The trooper was given a family contact number but it is an international number and he said he’s tried it several times and not been able to get in touch with anyone. The people he has been in contact with have been given basic information about the situation. We won’t be able to give any more detailed information to family until the investigation is complete,” explained Stewart.

News 4 requested dash camera footage of the shooting back in October 2023. OHP has now released the video.

According to dash camera footage provided by OHP, Swickey discovered Faudoa didn’t have the proper licensing or log book to drive the truck he was in.

The trooper asked to search the truck after Faudoa couldn't provide his destination to pick up a trailer. Faudoa said no.

A K-9 unit was called to the scene, but the two got into an altercation before other troopers arrived.

The dash camera footage shows Faudoa ran back to the cab as Swickey followed, yelling at Faudoa to get on the ground.

"I will shoot you if you get in that truck," said Swickey. "Get back."

Swickey and Faudoa struggled and yelled as they both entered the cab.

The truck is eventually started and can be seen on the dash camera rolling forward a few feet.

Swickey continued to command Faudoa to stop, then opened fire.

Faudoa was shot twice in the right arm, once in his right index finger, once in his right middle finger, and four times in his torso.

Ramirez’s translator also spoke with News 4 and said investigators told him no weapons were found in Faudoa’s truck, but 88 pounds of cocaine was discovered in the truck 24 hours after the shooting. He said the trooper told him the cocaine was found underneath Faudoa’s seat and in the side panels.

“He doesn’t have to be shot [because of cocaine]. The protocol for them is to just put him in handcuffs, bring him to the judge, and the judge decide what will happen with him,” stated Ramirez. “If they prove to me with camera [footage] they found something in my son’s truck, like drugs or guns, I will accept that, but then my son should have been in jail, not dead.”

Now, District Attorney Max Cook has declined to file charges against Swickey, saying there is insufficient evidence for the burden of proof to convict the trooper.

"It also appears there is insufficient evidence to say that the shooting was otherwise justified," DA Cook wrote. "I cannot say that this opinion is unlikely to change, but, of course, it is always subject to review should additional information become available."