Police kill man in KCK shooting, but public wasn’t notified until nearly 17 hours later
A 33-year-old man was shot to death by police early Sunday at a Kansas City, Kansas, apartment building, but news of the killing wasn’t made public until nearly 17 hours later.
The man killed in the shooting was identified as Brian Hilt of Kansas City, according to a news release from the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.
Although the shooting occurred between 5:10 and 6 a.m., the KBI didn’t notify the public about the deadly police shooting until it sent a press release shortly before 10 p.m. That was the first notice to the public, as police radio traffic is encrypted in Kansas City, Kansas.
When asked about the delay, Natalie Turner, a public affairs specialist with the KBI, listed several tasks that special agents and members of its crime scene response team do when they respond to police shootings, including reviewing video, interviewing witnesses and collecting evidence.
“Many of these things must be completed before a statement to the press and public about what occurred can be released,” Turner said.
Turner didn’t respond to follow-up questions about transparency and public trust in releasing information sooner and whether such delays can sow mistrust in the investigation.
The KBI is responsible for notifying the public and issuing press releases as part of an agreement the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department entered into in the fall of 2023. The agreement give the KBI full control over police shootings involving the city’s police officers, said Nancy Chartrand, a spokeswoman for the Kansas City, Kansas, police.
“That’s part of the agreement that we have with them to ensure transparency,” Chartrand said, who added she shared the press release on the department’s social media accounts and reached out to TV stations.
The timestamps on posts show that police shared the press release on Facebook at 11:40 p.m. and 11:49 p.m. on X, formerly Twitter.
Chartrand also said that if they had any inquiries, she would have forwarded them on to the KBI.
“To my knowledge, we received no inquiries from your publication or any media,” Chartrand said.
However, Kansas City, Kansas, police have encrypted their police and fire radio communications, which limits the public ability to track police activities. So the media relies on the department and other law enforcement agencies to promptly communicate major crime in the city.
‘Delays can sow mistrust and raise concerns’
National law enforcement experts, like the International Association of Chiefs of Police, typically recommend notifying the public within 24 hours of a deadly police shooting but also encourage sharing “what you can, when you can,” said Lauren Bonds, executive director of the National Police Accountability Project, a national organization focused on ending law enforcement overreach and abuse of power.
“So it would be reasonable for a department to share the initial fact that an officer-involved shooting occurred within a couple of hours of an incident even if they were not able to provide more details until a later time,” Bonds said.
Long delays in releasing information can erode public trust in law enforcement, Bonds said. With social media, camera phones and information-sharing platforms like Nextdoor, the public might know about a shooting shortly after it happens, and long before police acknowledge that it happened.
The lag in sharing information may lead some members of the public to think the police are trying to cover up the incident, Bonds said.
“Delays can sow mistrust and raise concerns about the integrity of the investigation,” Bonds said. “It can give the impression that the department is trying to ‘get its story straight’ or hide unhelpful evidence.”
Due to past discrepancies between police statements and actual events, it’s not surprising public suspicion would arise when information is not promptly shared, Bonds said.
While investigations into situations where an officer shot a person take time, police departments rarely make a statement to the public that cites forensic testing or witness statements, Bonds said. The information they release is usually time, location and the fact someone was shot. They might also mention whether the person was armed or the crime being investigated when the shooting occurred.
Police agencies almost never provide the detailed facts that would require all of the KBI-cited investigative steps to be completed before releasing information, Bonds said.
It “does not make sense that a department would need to delay their statement in order to take all of the investigative steps noted,” Bonds said.
Other police agencies have alerted public sooner
Other police agencies in Kansas notify the public of police shootings when the KBI is investigating the incidents.
The Topeka Police Department sent out a news release on Jan. 17 within three hours after after an officer shoot a person during a foot pursuit. The KBI’s news release wasn’t released until over 15 hours after the shooting.
The Salina Police Department also posted a news release on social media within five hours after one of its officers shot a barricaded suspect holding a child hostage. The KBI’s news release wasn’t sent out until over 8 hours after the shooting.
The delayed in letting the public know about police shootings is not unique to Kansas police agencies.
Kansas City police officers shot a man during a standoff during a domestic disturbance the night of Feb. 2. The Missouri State Highway Patrol, which was investigating, didn’t release a statement until nearly 11 hours after police initially responded to the call and nearly 9 hours after the shooting.
Kansas City police typically alerts media to standoffs and officer-involved shootings. When asked why no information was released earlier, Kansas City police spokesperson Officer Alyana Gonzalez said at the time that each situation is unique and that the release of information is at the highway patrol’s discretion.
Cpl. Justin Ewing, a spokesman for Troop A of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, at the time blamed the delay on “communications issues” and that he didn’t foresee that happening in the future.
When Kansas City officers exchanged gunfire with a person possibly involving an armed carjacking on Feb. 12 near Ninth Street and Van Brunt Boulevard, police alerted the media withing 1 1/2 hours. The incident involved a chase that ended on the Lewis and Clark Viaduct. No one was injured.
Break-in leads to fatal shooting
According to a preliminary investigation into Sunday’s fatal police shooting, Hilt allegedly broke into the Glanville Towers in the 700 block of Nebraska Avenue about 4 a.m. Surveillance video allegedly showed Hilt was armed with a gun.
At about 5:10 a.m., a fire alarm was activated and Kansas City, Kansas, firefighters responded to the building. There, they noticed the damaged property from the break-in and requested police to respond, the KBI said. Shortly after, a resident called 911 reporting an armed disturbance.
Two responding police officers found Hilt in an hallway in the apartment.
“Shots were fired after he (Hilt) disregarded commands to drop the gun he was holding,” the KBI said.
Hilt was struck by gunfire and was pronounced dead, the KBI said.
The Star asked for more details about the shooting, including whether Hilt threatened or fired shots at the officers, how many officers fired their guns, how many shots were fired and how many times Hilt was struck by gunfire.
“We cannot address your additional questions about case details while the case is ongoing,” Turner said. “When our investigation concludes, case findings will be presented to the Wyandotte County District Attorney.”
The two officers involved have been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation of the killing, said Nancy Chartrand, a spokeswoman for the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department.
One of the officers have been with the department since May 2022 and the other since June 2023, Chartrand said. Neither of the officers were injured.
This story was updated to include comments from Lauren Bonds, executive director of the National Police Accountability Project, a national organization focused on ending law enforcement overreach and abuse of power.
This story was originally published February 25, 2025 at 4:47 PM.
