Woman shot, killed by Gardner police in a disturbance call

Gardner police shot and killed a woman Thursday night after responding to a reported disturbance in the 400 block of North Birch Street.

They identified her Friday morning as 53-year-old Deanne Choate of Gardner.

The incident started after Choate’s boyfriend called police and said she’d fired a gun inside the house.

When officers arrived shortly before 9:45 p.m., two of them fired at Choate, according to a statement released early Friday by the Olathe Police Department. Choate died at the scene.

No officers were injured, the statement said.

Both officers were placed on administrative leave pending an investigation. One officer has 10 years of experience with the department, and the other has been with the department for a year and a half, police said.

The incident prompted a call for assistance from several Johnson County police jurisdictions. The section of Birch Street, in a residential area, was closed down.

“We are deeply saddened by her loss,” said Ron Beckman, plant manager at CFS West Holdings in Gardner, where Choate formerly worked. She had not worked there for several months, Beckman said.

Matt Campbell, mcampbell@kcstar.com, and Brian Burnes, bburnes@kcstar.com

This story was originally published March 27, 2015 at 4:17 AM with the headline "Woman shot, killed by Gardner police in a disturbance call."