Trooper fires shot during chase near hospital in Johnson County; no injuries reported
A bi-state police chase that started with a driver fleeing a traffic stop ended late Thursday night with a Kansas trooper firing at least one shot near an Overland Park hospital, according to the highway patrol.
The chase started around 8:45 p.m. in the area of Lake Winnebago in Cass County, Missouri, crossed into Jackson County and then into Johnson County, Kansas, where the Kansas Highway Patrol became involved, according to Trooper Candice Breshears, a highway patrol spokeswoman. It continued as the driver stopped the vehicle at West 119th Street near Menorah Medical Center and reportedly ran through a parking lot west of the hospital.
According to Breshears, the trooper pursued the driver on foot through the parking lot and into a wooded area, where at least one shot was fired by the trooper just before 9:30 p.m.
No one was struck by gunfire and no injuries were reported, Breshears said. The driver was taken to a hospital as a precaution. That person was in custody Thursday night.
The incident started in the area of Missouri 291 and Lake Winnebago Drive. About 8:45 p.m., an officer with the Lake Winnebago Police Department pulled the driver over for a light that was out in the back of the vehicle, according to Police Chief Richard Williams. Williams said the driver initially stopped for the officer but allegedly took off after the officer made contact and returned to his car. Williams said the pursuit started after the driver “failed to yield.”
The chase covered over 20 miles as it continued onto Missouri 291 to U.S. 50 and then traveled west on Interstate 470 to Interstate 435. Lake Winnebago police stopped pursuing the driver at the state line, the police chief said.
“As long as the traffic allows it, as long as the public is not in danger, we allow them to pursue,” Williams said.
The police chief said his agency has issued tickets to the driver but referred questions on possible charges to Kansas authorities.
The Kansas trooper then spotted the suspect vehicle in the area of Roe Avenue and College Boulevard and pursued it until it stopped near the hospital, according to the highway patrol.
The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office was investigating the shots-fired incident involving the Kansas trooper late Thursday night.
That investigation was ongoing Friday, according to Deputy Claire Canaan, a sheriff’s office spokeswoman. Details, including charges and what led up to a shot being fired, have not been released.
This story was originally published December 27, 2019 at 12:46 AM.
