Nonfatal Olathe police shooting in May was justified, Johnson County DA says
Olathe police officers who shot and wounded a man during an alleged armed encounter in May were justified in their use of force under Kansas law, Johnson County’s top prosecutor said Thursday.
Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe made the determination following a review of an investigation led by a special law enforcement team tasked with handling police shootings. The decision means the officers will not face criminal charges.
The prosecutor’s office said in a summary statement that the officer who fired “lawfully used deadly force to defend another officer against an imminent threat of death or great bodily harm.”
The man shot by police is 44-year-old Jesus Salazar III of Kansas City, Kansas. He was shot once in the abdomen and survived.
The shooting happened on May 26 in the 1100 block of East Santa Fe Street in Olathe in a restaurant parking lot. Officers were called by restaurant employees for a welfare check of a man — later identified as Salazar — who appeared sleeping inside his car who was thought to be intoxicated.
Police arrived at the restaurant just before 5 p.m. and approached the car. While knocking on the window to get Salazar’s attention, the officer saw a revolver in the car and called for backup, according to a summary provided by the prosecutor’s office.
Two more officers arrived at the scene. One parked a patrol car behind the vehicle to prevent a possible escape while the other two again tried to get Salazar’s attention, the summary said.
When Salazar awoke, officers later told investigators, he began eyeing the gun. Officers gave him verbal commands to exit the vehicle, the summary says. But he then allegedly grabbed the gun and began to bring it up in the direction of an officer, prompting another officer to fire a single shot into the car.
Salazar dropped the weapon, got out of the car, ran to a nearby gas station and struggled with officers before being arrested, the summary alleges.
Investigators later found a Smith & Wesson revolver and illegal drug samples from inside Salazar’s car, the summary says.
Salazar is now criminally charged in Johnson County District Court with aggravated assault against a law enforcement officer and illegal firearm possession. An attorney for Salazar did not immediately reply to a message seeking comment.
This story was originally published August 26, 2021 at 4:13 PM.
