‘Where’s the gun?’: Family of Sedalia woman killed by deputy skeptical of narrative
Hours after a Pettis County sheriff’s deputy fatally shot a Sedalia woman Saturday, officials said she allegedly told the deputy she was armed and threatened to shoot him.
But those who knew 25-year-old Hannah Fizer best say she never carried a gun. Her family and friends could not picture her threatening anyone with a firearm, let alone a law enforcement officer.
“She wouldn’t shoot a frog,” her father, John Fizer, told The Star. “I can’t even imagine, for one second, figure how she could’ve been a threat to anybody.”
Fizer was driving to her job at an Eagle Stop convenience store when she was pulled over by the deputy about 10 p.m. for allegedly speeding and driving carelessly on Thompson Boulevard in Sedalia.
She ran a traffic light at West Broadway Boulevard and kept driving as the deputy tried to stop the vehicle, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, which is investigating the shooting. Then she “finally” pulled off the highway, the patrol said.
During the traffic stop, Fizer was “not compliant” and refused to identify herself, according to the highway patrol. Fizer told the deputy she was armed and threatened to shoot him, the patrol said, citing a preliminary investigation.
The incident “escalated” and the deputy shot Fizer, the patrol said. She died a short time later; the deputy, who has not been identified publicly, was not injured.
It remained unclear Sunday night if Fizer had a gun. Sgt. Andy Bell, a spokesman for the patrol, said evidence from the scene was sent to a secure location and investigators would apply for a search warrant to answer that question.
Fizer was the only person in the car at the time of the shooting, Bell said. He didn’t yet have details on how the situation escalated.
On Sunday morning, Fizer’s aunt, Frances Fizer-Gaddy, 56, visited the site of the shooting, a short drive from her apartment. She found blood on the pavement between an Asian buffet and a seafood restaurant on U.S. Highway 50. Pink, blue and green flowers were left there.
Sitting outside her apartment later that afternoon, surrounded by about a dozen of Fizer’s family and friends, Fizer-Gaddy recalled her disbelief. When Fizer-Gaddy heard the news, she thought to herself, “Not her.”
Fizer-Gaddy said her niece did not carry a firearm. She did not believe Fizer, who relatives described as quiet and easy going, could provoke the kind of force used by the deputy. She and others were skeptical of the official narrative.
“I just want them to get to the bottom of it, get to the truth,” she said, remembering her niece as having a “heart of gold.”
Other relatives, including Fizer’s stepmother, Lori Fizer, also said they never knew her to carry a gun. Fizer’s boyfriend, James Johnson, 22, said Fizer was not armed when she left their place shortly before driving to work.
“Where’s the gun?” Johnson asked. “Where’s the gun at?”
Sheriff Kevin Bond could not be reached Sunday by The Star. In an interview with the city’s newspaper, the Sedalia Democrat, Bond said the traffic stop “escalated into a situation where (the deputy) had to fire his weapon.”
Some of Fizer’s relatives wondered why the deputy did not instead use a stun gun. They hoped there was video of the incident, but Bond on Monday said the deputy was not equipped with a body camera and his vehicle did not have a dash camera. As of late Monday morning, the deputy involved had not yet been interviewed, Bond said.
The department has no record of previous complaints against the officer, who joined the department in 2007, Bond told the Associated Press.
Fizer’s father, John Fizer, went to the county jail Sunday in search of answers. No one there could give him information, he was told. He hopes to meet with Bond this week to learn why the deputy felt the need to shoot his 140-pound daughter.
Though he did not know exactly what unfolded, John Fizer believed his daughter’s death could have been prevented.
“She is not threatening in any way,” he said. “She’d be the first one to give to a beggar on the street.”
John Fizer said he supports law enforcement, saying there were too many good officers to criticize the entire field. But he called for reform, such as more extensive training.
Eagle Stop store manager Melissa Rath, who worked with Fizer, got a text Saturday night from another employee who said Fizer didn’t show for her night shift. Rath messaged Fizer, asking what was going on. No reply came.
Rath, 35, also thought there was no way Fizer would threaten a deputy with a gun.
“That couldn’t have happened,” she said.
Investigators were canvassing the area of the shooting Sunday morning for witnesses and surveillance footage, Bell said.
A 2014 graduate of Marshall High School, Fizer left behind a 21-year-old brother, four step siblings, aunts, uncles and cousins.
Her family is planning her funeral through Rea Funeral Chapel in Sedalia. Fizer didn’t have life insurance, so relatives plan to pay for services out-of-pocket and said any contributions would help. Memorial contributions can be made through the funeral home.
Gun violence will be the subject of a new, statewide journalism project The Star is undertaking in Missouri this year in partnership with the national service program Report for America. As part of this project, The Star will seek the community’s help.
To contribute, visit Report for America online at reportforamerica.org.
The Star’s Anna Spoerre contributed to this report.
This story was originally published June 15, 2020 at 8:34 AM.
