Family of man shot, killed by Fulton PD officer demands answers

FULTON, Mo. (KMIZ)

The family of a 25-year-old Columbia man is demanding answers from the Fulton Police Department after he was shot by a Fulton police officer Monday morning.

Cody McCaulou died Tuesday night at University Hospital in Columbia.

Fulton police chief Steve Myers has said an officer shot a man outside McIntire Elementary School just before 10 a.m. Monday, but has not released the name of the officer, the name of the man who was shot or the circumstances that led to the shooting.

As the Missouri State Highway Patrol's Division of Drug and Crime Control continues its investigation into the incident, McCaulou's family members told ABC 17 News on Thursday that they have been told very little about why a police officer shot him.

"It's unfair on me, it was unfair on him and I really want answers from the police department," said Michael Netherton, McCaulou's father. "There's no right for them to do this."

Taylor Brooks, McCaulou's fiance, told ABC 17 News she was sitting in the passenger's seat of the vehicle on Monday morning.

Brooks said the unnamed Fulton police officer was pulling over the vehicle driven by McCaulou. Brooks and another family member were in the sedan at the time.

According to Brooks, McCaulou swerved to avoid hitting the police officer's vehicle and crashed into the back wall of McIntire Elementary School.

"When we hit the wall, his head went down towards the steering wheel, the airbags came out, but the officer shot him in the head when his head was down," Brooks said. "I was panicking, I was screaming and crying inside the car."

Court records show McCaulou was on probation in Tennessee after at least one felony assault conviction.

Fulton police made no indication that McCaulou was wanted or suspected of a crime.