JoCo district legal professional: Lenexa police shooting justified

KANSAS Town, Mo. — Johnson County District Lawyer Steve Howe introduced Friday that a lethal taking pictures involving Lenexa police in May well was justified.

The capturing left 34-calendar year-previous Darren Dejuan Chandler, of Nashville, Tennessee, lifeless.

In the course of a push conference Friday morning, Howe joined Lenexa Police Chief Dawn Layman to existing edited entire body digicam movie of the incident.

Audio from the dispatch get in touch with was also performed at the conference.

All around 5 a.m., the caller claimed a domestic disturbance and explained they could hear a guy screaming at a female and also informed dispatchers, “I am very certain I read him smack her at least at the time.”

The entire body digital camera footage showed that close to 5:03 a.m., officers arrived at the Extended Stay Hotel and later arrived at the door of the area where Chandler and his girlfriend were being remaining.

The movie then showed officers approaching the doorway and knocking on it, yelling “law enforcement.” Officers could be read telling the occupants of the home to open the doorway, and Chandler could be heard asking, “What’s going on?”

Following no one opens the doorway, officer utilized a hotel important to endeavor to get in. Video clip confirmed officers kick the door open and gun photographs were being fired, forcing the officers to retreat and just take deal with.

In accordance to a presentation Howe gave as component of evidence, Chandler attained floor on the officers immediately after they retreated and that is when officers fired back again at Chandler, killing him.

“You can actually see the gunpowder, the discharge out of the firearm, which I feel served validate for the investigators and for our office that, in reality, he was the first a person to shoot in that sequence and then the officers as they were being slipping backwards then return fireplace,” Howe claimed.

Howe’s report also showed officers did not have a warrant and had been not invited inside of the room. But beneath Kansas legislation, officers experienced a appropriate to enter the space for the reason that instant motion was essential.

“The officers all described in their interview that they ended up worried with the victim’s basic safety,” Howe claimed. “She stopped building appears and [they] were worried for her welfare.”

The lady experienced injuries from Chandler, who experienced been seeking to strangle her, Howe mentioned.

Michael Tabman, a former police officer and FBI distinctive agent, explained domestic violence circumstances ordinarily are the most perilous for police officers and that, in this situation, the use of deadly pressure was justified.

“If you enjoy the movie, it unquestionably appears that the matter fired 1st. He was completely ready,” Tabman mentioned. “The officers had no preference but to return fire. If you stage a gun at a law enforcement officer, you’re likely to be shot.”

The officers concerned in the capturing have been not hurt, but are on modified duty and getting counseling since of the incident.

“Just looking at it here yet again nowadays, tends to make my heart pump really quick,” Layman stated. “[We’re] pretty lucky that we didn’t lose at least two officers in that situation.”

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Yearly murder details and knowledge for the Kansas Town spot are obtainable by the KSHB 41 Information Homicide Tracker, which was launched in 2015. Go through the KSHB 41 Information Mug Shot Policy.