Driver is fatally shot during struggle with police in Peculiar

A suspicious driver who fled from police was fatally shot Tuesday when he struggled with the law enforcement officers and wrested away a stun gun during his arrest along Interstate 49 in Peculiar, sheriff’s officials said.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office received a call about a driver on I-49 north of Harrisonville about 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to a statement from the sheriff’s office. The person reportedly had been driving erratically, varying his speed and coming to a complete stop on the interstate.

The driver fled from a Cass County deputy who attempted to stop his vehicle.

A Peculiar police officer deployed a tire deflation device, which the vehicle struck. The driver stopped just north of Route J on I-49 in Peculiar.

After getting out of his vehicle, the driver advanced on the deputy, according to the sheriff’s office. The deputy fired his stun gun, but the driver continued to resist, gained control of the stun gun and began firing it at the officers.

The deputy then shot the driver multiple times, the sheriff’s office said.

Officials described the driver as a man in his 50s believed to be from out of state. The department did not release his name Wednesday.

Residents near the shooting scene said they heard the altercation and gunfire.

Susan Votra, who lives near an outer road along I-49 that residents know as School Road, said she was in her backyard when she heard what she initially thought was the sound of a car backfiring.

“Now I know that was the stop sticks, then I heard yelling,” Votra said. “It was very heated.”

Votra estimated one minute elapsed before she heard five to seven gunshots from the direction of the interstate.

Maureen Herrell, another area resident, said she distinctly heard seven gunshots.

She also heard the initial altercation, but she said “it didn’t register until after. It was the gunshots that were very, very clear.”

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office was continuing to investigate Wednesday.

This story was originally published May 25, 2016 at 7:02 AM with the headline "Driver is fatally shot during struggle with police in Peculiar."