WICHITA, Kan. – The Goddard, Kansas, police chief said a Goddard police officer shot and killed someone waving a gun during a short chase around 10 am Monday.
The shooting occurred between West 183rd Street and South 63rd Street.
Goddard Police Chief Lance Beagley said the officer tried to stop a driver for a traffic violation, but the man would not stop. The chief said the officer followed the man a few miles south of Goddard.
“The officer chased the vehicle for a short time and ignored the pursuit of the vehicle, even though the speed was not that high,” the chief said. “The motorist continued at a fairly safe speed with the remote officer following.”
Beagley said the driver gestured and flashed a gun from inside the vehicle. The officer relayed the information to other officers by radio.
When the man got to West 183rd and South 63rd Street, the slow chase ended.
“The motorist suddenly stopped behind us and exited the vehicle with the gun in his hand and approached the officer,” Beagley said. “The officer gave several continuous orders to the subject to drop the gun.”
The chief said the officer got to a point where he felt threatened and fired his weapon.
“I think anyone, any reasonable person would understand that a subject with a gun can be a threat to an officer at any range, and the officer tried to give orders and give the suspect an opportunity to drop the gun before the ‘officer had to defend himself,’ said Beagley.
The officer fired 5-10 shots, hitting the man he was pursuing. The man died instantly. The boss said the man didn’t fire his gun.
Beagley said the officer’s car had a camera and the officer was wearing a camera.
He said that although the Kansas Bureau of Investigation handles many of the state’s officer-involved shootings, the KBI will not be used for this case.
“Because it only involves our one officer and not multiple officers from multiple agencies, we didn’t apply for the KBI for it,” Beagley said. “The Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office will handle… all inquiries.”
The chief also contacted the district attorney’s office.
Meanwhile, Goddard’s police officer has been placed on administrative leave, customary for officer shootings.
Beagley did not say how old the driver was or where he was from. The chief did not know if the Goddard Police Department had any previous interactions with the man.
The boss expects more details to be released on Tuesday.
