Father of unarmed Sedalia woman sues ex-sheriff’s deputy who fatally shot her in June
The father of a Sedalia woman has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the former Pettis County sheriff’s deputy who fatally shot her during a traffic stop in June.
The lawsuit accuses then-Deputy Jordan Schutte of carelessly using excessive force when he shot 25-year-old Hannah Fizer, who was unarmed, five times as she sat in her car June 13 in Sedalia.
Fizer’s death was “completely unnecessary” and would have been avoided had Schutte followed widely accepted police procedures, according to the lawsuit from Fizer’s father, John Fizer.
On the day of the shooting, Schutte pulled Fizer over about 10 p.m. between two restaurants near the 3500 block of West Broadway Boulevard. Friends have said she was driving to her job at an Eagle Stop convenience store at the time.
Schutte later said Fizer refused to identify herself when she was stopped for alleged speeding and careless driving. She told the deputy she was armed with a gun and was going to shoot him, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
But radio traffic revealed Fizer identified herself by first and last name, according to the lawsuit. The recordings did not capture any threats from Fizer, the suit says.
No gun was found in her silver 2015 Hyundai Elantra.
Within minutes of the stop, Schutte threatened to smash out her driver’s side window with his baton, according to the suit.
At one point, he radioed to dispatch that he was “going to let her mouth off and record me for as long as she wants.”
Though he claimed Fizer threatened to shoot him, Schutte did not take cover, call for backup or try to deescalate the encounter, according to the lawsuit.
The suit, which questions Schutte’s version of events, contends Fizer did not pose a threat to the deputy or anyone else.
After the shooting, Schutte stood with his weapon pointed at Fizer as she remained motionless until paramedics arrived about five minutes later, according to the lawsuit.
Schutte is no longer an employee of the sheriff’s office, said Sheriff Brad Anders, who was elected Nov. 3.
“It’s a very tragic situation,” Anders said Thursday, offering his condolences to the Fizer family.
In September, a special prosecutor determined Schutte was justified under Missouri law in shooting Fizer.
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 had a gun and was going to shoot him, according to the prosecutor, Stephen Sokoloff.
