Wichita Police Department Chief Nelson Mosley on Monday issued
the following statement regarding an officer-involved shooting that occurred on
Saturday night along West Kellogg:
“Good morning. I am Chief Nelson Mosley. Thank you for being here. I am here to address the events from the
Saturday evening traffic stop that resulted in an officer using deadly force.
This unfortunate incident
affects our entire community. During the
traffic stop, a Wichita Police Officer was seriously injured.
Our thoughts and prayers
go out to the officer and family. We are
thankful the officer was not critically injured.
The officer has been
released from the hospital. The officer - who has been with the department for
more than six years - is on administrative leave as per policy.
We also want to express
our condolences to the family of the deceased.
No police involved
shooting is routine and our investigation is ongoing.
We are committed to a
thorough investigation.
Though more information
may be released as it becomes available, preliminarily, we want to give a clear
sequence of events which lead to the shooting.
At 10:10 p.m. an officer
conducted a traffic stop on a silver colored Toyota Prius in the 6100 block of
West Kellogg Dr.
Shortly thereafter the
officer had contact with the driver, later identified as Nicholas Garner, 26,
W/M from Wichita, KS.
According to witnesses,
the officer was speaking with Mr. Garner in the open door of the vehicle. During this contact, Mr. Garner put the
vehicle in drive.
Investigators believe
that the officer may have tried to stop Mr. Garner from driving away and became
lodged in the vehicle, with his legs hanging outside the vehicle.
Mr. Garner sped away from
the traffic stop with the officer hanging in the door of the vehicle.
We are still obtaining
and reviewing surveillance video, but it is believed the first time around the
pumps Mr. Garner struck the patrol vehicle then backed up striking the barrier
at the fuel pump.
Mr. Garner made at least
two more laps around the parking lot, at a high rate of speed, with the officer
still hanging from his vehicle.
Mr. Garner’s vehicle jumped
the barrier between the gas pumps and McDonalds striking an occupied vehicle
leaving the McDonalds lot, spinning it out.
According to witnesses
Mr. Garner’s vehicle exited the McDonalds lot driving eastbound in the
westbound lanes of Kellogg drive at a high rate of speed, almost striking three
more vehicles and a motorcycle.
When the Prius continued
driving at a high rate of speed, Mr. Garner collided with a motorist travelling
westbound on Kellogg Drive and the officer fired a duty weapon.
The officer was able to
disengage from the Prius, however the officer sustained injuries. The officer was aided by several witnesses,
one of whom used the officer’s radio to notify dispatch of what had happened. We are extremely grateful for the assistance
of every citizen who helped on scene.
We were challenged by several things that evening. First was the size of the scene. We had to contain
a large area of West Kellogg, second was the severe weather that moved in.
We are continuing to ask
for the public’s assistance. We are
still seeking any video, eyewitness accounts or other pertinent
information.
If anyone has more
information, please call investigators at 268-4182.
In closing, I want to
remind you that officers put their lives on the line each and every day. We are
saddened that an officer had to make a life or death decision.
The investigation is ongoing and
we appreciate the assistance of the District Attorney’s office and the Kansas
Bureau of Investigation.”