Salina - Police Shoot Burglary Suspect

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rick521

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Woke up and caught the last part of this, was not sure what was going on, so waited till this morning to post.

Salina Police responded to Orscheln's on North Ohio around 11:00 Friday night on a report of an activated burglar alarm at the store.

Once police officers responded and secured the perimeter of the building, they discovered a man trying to leave the store from a hole cut into one of the overhead doors. Deputy Cheif Barry Plunkett from the Salina Police Department says it was around that time the suspect was shot. The suspect received one shot that is beleived to be a non-life threatening wound to the leg.

Plunkett added an investigation in what led to the shooting was in the preliminary stage, and no other information was available at that time. The officer that discharged their gun was placed on administrative leave, as per the Police Department policy.
 

rick521

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Chief describes shooting

Hill says young officer was startled and her gun went off accidentally

A young Salina police officer responding to a burglar alarm about 11:20 p.m. Friday accidentally fired her weapon when she was startled by movement inside the building, Salina Police Chief Jim Hill said Tuesday.

The bullet went through a garage door at Orscheln Farm and Home, 360 N. Ohio, and struck Thomas E. Hewitt, 19, 913 E. Elm, in the right leg. Hewitt was kept overnight at Salina Regional Health Center before being arrested Saturday afternoon on burglary, theft and drug possession charges; he was released from jail later Saturday on bond.

The officer, Jamie Grover, 25, has been placed on paid administrative leave until an investigation into the incident is complete, Hill said.

Hill said results of his department’s investigation into the shooting will be turned over to County Attorney Ellen Mitchell, who will decide whether criminal charges against Grover are warranted.

“Preliminarily, from what I’ve seen so far, I don’t think there was any criminal wrongdoing” on the part of the officer, Hill said. Hill described the incident this way:

Grover was the first officer to respond to a burglar alarm at the business. She checked the front of the building, then shined her flashlight on the south side, where there are numerous garage doors. Her view of the two doors closest to Ohio Street was obstructed because of pallets piled on the parking, so she parked her patrol car, got out and approached the building.

Grover saw a box on the ground and, above that, a hole about three feet tall had been cut in the garage door. At that point, Grover didn’t know whether the damage had been done previously, or whether it was an entry point for a burglar. Grover peered into the hole from a few feet away and saw quick movement. “She saw legs moving, and she saw a gloved hand,” Hill said, and she was “very startled.”

Grover used her left hand to push the button on her radio microphone, to tell dispatchers someone was inside the building. At the same time, she stepped backward, away from the building, and drew her gun from its holster. She stumbled. “At that time, she heard what she described as a soft pop, and her weapon discharged,” Hill said.

Hill said the gun, a 9 mm Glock semi-automatic, discharged as it cleared the holster, or about from the level of Grover’s hip. The bullet went through the garage door. Other officers heard the shot and ran to help. A man stuck his head and hands outside the hole, surrendering to officers.

Hill said it wasn’t until officers were handcuffing the man — identified by police as Hewitt — that someone noticed “a spot of blood” on Hewitt’s right pants leg and realized he had been shot. The bullet appeared to have gone through Hewitt’s leg, Hill said. Officers think the bullet lodged in the tire of a tractor parked inside Orscheln.

Hill said officers found a chain saw in a box outside the store, and they think the chain saw was being stolen from Orscheln. Drawers and offices inside the building also had been ransacked, and Hill said rolled and loose coins thought to be from inside the building fell from Hewitt’s pants pockets as he was being put into the ambulance.

Hill said the building was searched after Hewitt surrendered, and no one else was inside.

Hill said that, in accordance with department policy, Grover immediately was placed on paid administrative leave, and internal affairs officers and investigators began administrative and criminal investigations into the shooting.

Had someone been killed in the incident, Hill said, he would have turned the investigation over to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. But given the circumstances, he said, he believes his officers can conduct a thorough and impartial investigation.

Hill said he will look over the information compiled by the internal affairs officer and determine whether disciplinary action should be taken against Grover or whether the department’s policies or procedures need to be changed in any way.

He said he hopes to wrap up the investigation quickly — possibly by the end of the week.

Hill described Grover as “an outstanding young lady and a sharp young officer” and said the accidental shooting caused her “a lot of trauma and a lot of stress.” Grover joined the Salina Police Department in early 2005, Hill said. In March 2005, she began 15 weeks of training at the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center in Hutchinson. Upon graduation from the academy, she worked for 15 weeks with a Salina Police Department field training officer before going on patrol alone.
 
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