Sedalia woman’s family ‘devastated’ Pettis County deputy won’t be charged in her death
The family of a Sedalia woman fatally shot by a Pettis County sheriff’s deputy in June expressed disappointment Monday after a Missouri prosecutor announced the officer will not be charged.
Hannah Fizer’s aunt, Frances Gaddy, said she was “devastated” by the finding that the sheriff’s deputy was justified in killing her 25-year-old niece during a traffic stop.
“Every single person I’ve talked to knows this is wrong,” Gaddy, 56, told The Star. “We need to somehow change these laws so that the good cops can be covered and protected, and the bad ones can be weeded out.”
Earlier Monday, the special prosecutor, Stephen Sokoloff, announced that while the shooting was possibly avoidable, “it cannot be said” the deputy did not have a reasonable belief he was in danger when Fizer told him she was going to shoot him.
“There are aspects of the case that lead me to believe that an alternative approach might have avoided the confrontation that led to the officer having to discharge his weapon,” Sokoloff wrote to a judge, “but that is not relevant to a determination of whether criminal liability would attach.”
After the shooting, no gun was found in Fizer’s car.
Fizer’s father, John Fizer, told The Associated Press he was “dumbfounded” after hearing Sokoloff’s findings. He said his daughter would have done “absolutely nothing” to draw the officer’s fire.
“She probably did run a red light, he probably pulled her over for a good reason,” Fizer told the AP. “His good reason stopped right there. Seconds later she’s dead. I’m just numb. I don’t understand it.”
Fizer was pulled over about 10 p.m. June 13 near the 3500 block of West Broadway Boulevard. Family and friends have said she was driving to her job at an Eagle Stop convenience store when she was stopped for speeding and careless driving.
In a nearby surveillance video, Fizer was seen moving inside her silver 2015 Hyundai Elantra before the deputy fired his weapon, an investigator wrote in search warrants.
Fizer’s family members have said they doubted of the official narrative. It was unlike Fizer, whom family members described as kind and caring, to threaten to shoot a deputy, they said.
The investigation into Fizer’s death was completed in July by the Missouri State Highway Patrol. The case was handed over to Pettis County Prosecuting Attorney Phillip Sawyer, who asked a judge to appoint a special prosecutor to determine if charges were appropriate.
After learning that charges would not be filed, Fizer’s aunt again wondered Monday why the deputy — who has not been publicly identified — resorted to shooting Fizer.
“There are too many things he could have done, and should have done,” Gaddy said.
Bryan White, the family’s attorney, said Fizer’s relatives remain heartbroken and continue to search for answers.
“They are frustrated and disappointed,” White said. “We believe that this should have never happened, and I think the special prosecutor’s comments about the shooting being avoidable support our belief.”
This story was originally published September 14, 2020 at 4:44 PM.
