No charges filed against Boone County deputy who killed man in September shooting
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
No charges will be filed against a deputy who shot and killed a Columbia man in September in the 200 block of Railroad Street in Harrisburg.
A press release from the Audrain County Prosecutor’s Office – which was named the special prosecutor for the investigation – says lethal force by Boone County Deputy Kevin Stroer was justified.
Stroer fired seven shots at Ty Lewis after Lewis pointed a loaded gun at the deputy on Sept. 7, according to the release. Five of the shots hit Lewis, according to the release.
“Deputy Stroer was dispatched to a domestic call reporting a person in the home threatening with a firearm. As Deputy Stroer arrived on scene, he was investigating the premises before making exigent entrance into the location of the domestic call based on a threat to the life of a third person,” the release says. “Suspect Ty Lewis was located inside the residence at a range of less than fifteen feet from Deputy Stroer. After six clear, direct commands from Deputy Stroer where Lewis verbally resists the commands, Lewis twisted his body towards Deputy Stroer with his arm rising and his hand containing a firearm.”
The loaded gun was found near Lewis after the shooting, the release says. The release says the incident was caught on a body-worn camera by the deputy.
“Upon review, I have found the use of force to be justified under Missouri law, and believe Deputy Stroer’s actions, and the actions of the other responding Deputies, were appropriate, proportional, swift and conscientious to attempt to avoid further danger to life, body and health of citizens and officers alike,” Prosecutor Jacob Shellabarger wrote in the release. “The Boone County Deputies’ professional response was consistent with professional law enforcement standards and instruction.”
