Investigation into Gardner police shooting indicates woman killed had gun, did not obey officers

An investigation into the fatal shooting of a Gardner woman by police on March 26 indicates she did not obey the officers’ orders to drop a handgun, according to Olathe police. The case will now be reviewed by the Johnson County District Attorney’s Office.

Gardner police responded to a report of a disturbance shortly before 9:45 p.m. in the 400 bock of North Birch Street. Deanne Choate’s boyfriend called police to say she had fired a gun inside the house. When officers arrived they shot the 53-year-old woman, who died at the scene.

According to a statement released Wednesday, the multijurisdictional Officer Involved Shooting Investigation Team spent about 400 hours looking into the case and concluded that Choate did not obey a police command involving a handgun. Two officers fired, killing her.

One officer has 10 years experience with the Gardner Police Department. The other has been on the force for a year and a half.

This story was originally published April 1, 2015 at 7:01 PM with the headline "Investigation into Gardner police shooting indicates woman killed had gun, did not obey officers."