Sedgwick County Sheriff holds news conference about officer-involved shooting
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — The Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office is conducting an investigation into a Wichita Police Department officer-involved shooting that claimed the life of one man in north Wichita on Wednesday.
The shooting happened shortly before 8 p.m. Wednesday in the 700 block of W. 21st St., near the intersection of 21st Street and Arkansas Avenue.
Sedgwick County Sheriff Jeff Easter said the incident started when a caller reported to 911 that someone was in their house with a gun.
The SCSO said officers arrived and located a man walking down 21st Street for “several blocks” while officers walked with him, trying to de-escalate the situation.
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As officers approached 21st Street and Arkansas Avenue, they deployed a “less lethal” round of ammunition in an attempt to get him to drop the weapon. The SCSO said this was a 40mm foam projectile.
A news release from the SCSO says while the officer was announcing the deployment of the less-lethal round, the suspect stated he was going to make it lethal.
The SCSO said the suspect turned toward the officers, leveling his gun toward the officers, and fired multiple rounds. Eight officers returned fire and struck the suspect multiple times.
Easter said during a news conference that “based on the facts, (the man) was in a mental health crisis.”
On Friday, Sheriff Easter reviewed the Axon body-camera footage and gave a minute-by-minute breakdown of the footage.
Minute-by-minute breakdown
7:44 p.m.: Call received by 911 saying someone was in a house pointing a gun at another person.
7:46 p.m.: Officers were dispatched to the 2300 block of N. Fairview Ave. for the report of a disturbance with a weapon.
7:47 p.m.: WPD units check en route to the location.
7:54 p.m.: Officers arrive on scene.
7:56 p.m.: WPD officer advises a Hispanic male with a gun to his head is walking south.
7:59 p.m.: The man is heading westbound on 21st Street.
8:00 p.m.: The man is walking in the middle of the road heading toward Waco Avenue.
8:01 p.m.: WPD officers radio in the man was heading west toward the QuikTrip near the intersection of 21st Street and Arkansas Avenue.
8:04 p.m.: The WPD supervisor calls for the use of less-lethal weapons.
8:05 p.m.: The suspect heads southbound on Arkansas Avenue toward more officers.
8:07 p.m.: Shots are fired, the man is down.
8:14 p.m.: Wichita Fire Department arrives and triages code blue, which means the man is unresponsive.
8:17 p.m.: EMS also triages code blue.
8:21 p.m.: EMS pronounces the man dead.
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Sheriff Easter said during the news conference the Axon body camera footage would be made available to KSN at a later date.
The SCSO said once the department’s investigation is complete, the findings will be presented to the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office for review.
You can watch Easter’s news conference in full below:
KSN will continue to follow this investigation and will provide updates as they are received.
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