Vest saves KC-area officer’s life, police say. Search for shooter ongoing
A Lee’s Summit police officer was shot multiple times, including once directly in the chest, which, if it weren’t for his bulletproof vest, likely would have been fatal, a police spokesman said Monday.
The officer was shot four times, with one round stopped by his vest directly over his chest, said Sgt. Chris Depue with the Lee’s Summit Police Department. The shooting emphasizes that a vest is a necessary piece of safety equipment, even though it can be hot, sweaty, and uncomfortable, Depue said.
The officer was out of surgery and was in recovery late in the morning. He continues to improve, and was working with his care team, Depue said in an afternoon update.
“His injuries are serious, but he is resting comfortably surrounded by his family, both blood and blue,” Depue said.
A search for the suspect, 27-year-old Thomas Eugene Tolbert of Kansas City, is ongoing. The Missouri Highway Patrol issued a Blue Alert at about 8:45 a.m., sending the public safety notice to people’s phones in Cass, Clay, Jackson, Johnson, Lafayette, Platte and Ray counties in Missouri.
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation extended the alert, which is issued when a law enforcement officer is killed or seriously injured, into Kansas about 12:30 p.m. Monday.
Tolbert was described as a Black man, approximately 6 feet 2 inches tall, weighing 240 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes, and was wearing a black top with a hood and black shorts. He is allegedly armed with a 10mm handgun and should be considered dangerous, the KBI said in a news release.
Shot while investigating domestic disturbance
Tolbert is suspected of shooting the Lee’s Summit officer around 11 p.m. Sunday at the Residences at Echelon apartments in the 3500 block of Southwest Hollywood Drive.
Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson announced Monday afternoon that she had charged Tolbert with first-degree assault, armed criminal action, unlawful possession of a firearm, resisting arrest/detention/stop by fleeing and second-degree domestic assault.
According to court documents, a woman told police that Tolbert had returned to the apartment and entered using the keys she believed he had taken from her.
An argument ensued, and he allegedly choked her and grabbed her by the neck and threw her to the ground. Tolbert allegedly then hit her while she was on the ground. During the alleged attack, she grabbed her child and fled downstairs to call the police.
Two Lee’s Summit officers responded to investigate the domestic disturbance. One of the officers arrived first and was waiting for the other to arrive, Depue said.
The first officer found a man, later identified as Tolbert, in the parking lot of the complex. The officer tried to obtain his identification, but Tolbert refused, according to court documents.
The officer then tried to detain Tolbert by grabbing hold of him. Tolbert allegedly broke free and ran northbound through the parking lot, between two garage buildings, according to court documents.
The officer chased after Tolbert and as he rounded the garages, Tolbert allegedly fired multiple shots, striking the officer four times — in the left leg, left arm, the chest of his body armor and the shoulder.
During their investigation, police found six 10mm shell casings at the scene.
The officer, who has not been publicly named, joined the Lee’s Summit Police Department about 1 1 /2 years ago, coming from another law enforcement agency, Depue said. The officer has between seven and nine years of total law enforcement experience.
Prior criminal history
Tolbert allegedly “has a history of aggravated assault and shooting at law enforcement,” the Missouri Highway Patrol said in the alert. Lee’s Summit police previously had contact with Tolbert in April when an officer cited him for allegedly driving 51 mph in a 35 mph zone, according to a citation filed in Lee’s Summit Municipal Court.
Court records show that Tolbert was convicted of charges stemming from a pair of cases in Jackson County Circuit Court, one from 2017 and the other from 2019.
Officer Alayna Gonzalez, a spokeswoman for the Kansas City Police Department, said the 2019 case was filed after Tolbert fired shots at police officers during a chase.
At the time, The Star reported Kansas City police tried to stop a suspect for a traffic violation. He fled from officers and during the chase, allegedly turned and fired shots at officers. They returned fire and hit him, and he was taken into custody.
Karen Pojmann, a spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Corrections, said Tolbert was incarcerated from May 2021 to May 2022 following convictions on unlawful use of a weapon and assault charges out of the 2017 and 2019 cases. Tolbert had 929 and 825 days in jail time-served credit for the cases, respectively, before entering state custody, she said.
Pojmann said Tolbert is currently on an 18-month probation term that started in April 2024 for weapon possession charges.
In the 2019 case, Tolbert was sentenced to five years in prison after making an Alford plea to assault, armed criminal action and resisting or interfering with an arrest charges, according to court records. In an Alford plea, a defendant does not admit guilt but acknowledges that prosecutors have sufficient evidence to convict if the case were to go to trial.
In the 2017 case, he was sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty to a count of unlawful use of a weapon. A judge ruled the sentences in the two cases were to run concurrently.
Anyone with information about Tolbert’s whereabouts is asked to call 911 or the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477). In Kansas, they can call 1-800-KS-CRIME (800-572-7463).
There is a reward of up to $10,000 for any anonymous information submitted through the Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers Program, which runs the TIPS Hotline, that leads to his arrest.
This story was originally published June 2, 2025 at 3:20 PM.
