In The News: White St. Louis Police Officer Shoots Black Off-Duty Officer
- Evan Howard
- Jun 30, 2017
- 2 min read
On June 21, 2017, detectives with the Anti-Crime Unit were tracking a vehicle that was reported to be stolen from the Maryland Heights area. According to the police report, there were 3 black males driving the car, two of those males 17 years of age.
After attempting to stop the car, the suspects fled. After deploying spike strips, in an attempt to stop the vehicle, the suspects allegedly began firing multiple gunshots at the officers. The car crashed at the 5900 block of Astra and the suspects then began to flee on foot.
Officers then pursued the suspects on foot and while chasing after the suspects the officers were in “fear[ ] of their safety” and “two officers fired shots at the suspects,” shooting one suspect in the ankle.
Unlucky for the suspects, and the off-duty officer, the car crashed near the off-duty officers home. Apparently the off-duty officer came out of his home with his service weapon. The first arriving officers ordered him to the ground until they recognized the off-duty officer and let him back up. Soon thereafter, a responding officer responding arrives at the scene and sees a black man with a gun. According to that responding officer he “feared for his safety” and shot the off-duty officer; wounding him in the arm.
The off-duty officer is recovering and his injuries are not life threatening. The black off-duty officer is 38 years old and has been on the force for 11-years. The responding white officer who “feared” for his safety is 36 years old and has been on the force for 8 years.
While the reasoning for the officer on officer shooting is appalling, I find it interesting that it has overshadowed other officers who were in pursuit of three black males and shot one of them. The report clearly states the suspects “fled from the vehicle on foot.” To me, that reads as if they’re running away from the officers. Even though the suspects were running away from the officers, two of the officers apparently were “fearing for their safety” and shot at the suspects; while they were running away?! On another note, two officers fired, but only one shot hit the suspect . . . where did the rest of the fired shots go while these officers were running through a neighborhood?
