District attorney clears Shawnee officer in exchange of gunfire with armed teen
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Johnson County DA ruled officer's use of deadly force was lawful and justified
- Ortiz allegedly fired 13 rounds at police during pursuit through wooded area
- Ortiz now faces attempted capital murder charge and awaits mental evaluation
The Johnson County district attorney has found that a Shawnee police officer was justified to use deadly force in exchanging gunfire with a 19-year-old the officer was trying to take into custody earlier this year.
The officer “lawfully used deadly force to defend himself and others against an imminent and actual threat of death or great bodily harm,” Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe concluded in a report released Wednesday. “His use of deadly force was therefore lawful and justified under Kansas law.”
Isaac Alfonso Ortiz faces charges of attempted capital murder of a law enforcement officer and interference with a law enforcement officer in the incident that happened the morning of June 17.
Howe’s report says Ortiz, who allegedly has a history of profound mental illness and recent hospitalization, was released from the hospital days before the shooting. Ortiz’s mother told authorities he made concerning statements after coming home.
On June 16, he stayed with a friend. The next morning, the friend allegedly found that Ortiz was gone and his black pickup with a 9mm handgun inside was missing. Ortiz had taken both without permission.
Around 5 a.m., traffic cameras captured the pickup approaching the intersection at West 67th Street and Lackman Road with its hazard lights on. Shortly thereafter, the cameras captured Ortiz firing three shots from the truck.
About five minutes later, a bystander checked on Ortiz and asked if he wanted him to call the police, but Ortiz refused.
The bystander drove off, but called the police anyway. When a dispatcher checked the traffic camera, they saw the vehicle was unoccupied, and an officer was sent to check on the truck.
Dispatchers also reviewed traffic camera footage and saw Ortiz allegedly fire the gun out the window of the truck. Several more officers were sent to assist the first officer.
One of the officers spotted Ortiz walking near 67th and Midland Avenue, and when the officer tried to stop Ortiz, he ran away into the backyard of a home. The officer, identified in the report only as “Officer ‘B,’” ran after him through a residential neighborhood and into a wooded area, where Ortiz allegedly fired around a dozen times. The officer took cover behind a tree and returned fire, firing six rounds.
Investigators recovered 13 shell casings from the woods, believed to have been fired by Ortiz, and six fired by the officer.
Neither the officer nor Ortiz was hit by gunfire. Ortiz was taken into custody at a nearby church parking lot.
In July, Johnson County Judge T. Kelly Ryan ordered Ortiz to undergo a mental health examination to determine if he is competent to stand trial.
