Crime
Missouri woman killed by sheriff’s deputy was on way to work, didn’t carry gun: family
Editor’s note: Several updates to this story, originally posted on June 14, were published in the following days, including:
Shouts and gunshots: Witness recalls fatal shooting of unarmed Sedalia woman by deputy
No police video in Sedalia woman’s death; sheriff says bodycams used before tech issues
‘Where’s the gun?’: Family of Sedalia woman killed by deputy skeptical of narrative
Hannah Fizer was driving to her job at an Eagle Stop convenience store in Sedalia when she was pulled over by a Pettis County sheriff’s deputy about 10 p.m. Saturday.
The 25-year-old had recently been promoted to assistant manager, her family said, and she was working the night shift that evening.
During the traffic stop, the deputy shot and killed Fizer.
It was unclear Sunday if Fizer had a gun, according to the Missouri Highway Patrol, which is investigating the shooting at the request of the Pettis County Sheriff. The patrol has said the deputy pulled Fizer over near U.S. 50 and Winchester Drive, and that Fizer “refused to identify herself, stated she was armed & verbally threatened to shoot the deputy.”
The situation escalated and the deputy shot Fizer, said Missouri Highway Patrol spokesman Sgt. Andy Bell. Fizer died a short time later. The deputy was not injured.
Fizer’s family said this behavior doesn’t sound like the young woman they knew. Fizer’s stepmother, Lori Fizer, 51, said she’s never known Hannah to carry a gun.
It just doesn’t make sense, Lori Fizer said.
“We need to know exactly how everything went down,” she said. “She weighed a whole 145 pounds and she was by herself.”
Asked why the deputy pulled Fizer over to begin with, Bell directed questions to the Pettis County Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff Kevin Bond could not immediately be reached Sunday.
Family described Fizer, who’d been living in Sedalia with her boyfriend of several years, as quiet, kind and generous.
Hannah Fizer spent Saturday swimming with friends and visiting with her parents before heading to work that evening, Lori Fizer said.
The young woman leaves behind many family members, friends and an English Bulldog Pitbull mix named Titus.
“He was her baby and she spoiled him rotten,” Lori Fizer said. “He doesn’t know he’s a dog.”
The family is planning her funeral through Rae Funeral Home in Sedalia. Fizer didn’t have life insurance, so the family plans to pay for services out-of-pocket. Lori Fizer said any contributions would be helpful.
Gun violence will be the subject of a new, statewide journalism project The Star is undertaking in Missouri this year in partnership with the national service program Report for America. As part of this project, The Star will seek the community’s help.
To contribute, visit Report for America online at reportforamerica.org.
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