MSHP names man killed by Columbia police, 4 officers put on leave; Moberly police name homicide victim

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Missouri State Highway Patrol has identified the man killed by the Columbia Police Department after allegedly displaying a knife at officers on Saturday night.

The suspect was identified Monday as Timothy T. Turner, 37, of Columbia, according to the MSHP's Division of Drug and Crime Control. The release says that Turner was a suspect in connection with a homicide investigation in Moberly.

Columbia police had told ABC 17 News on Saturday evening that the department was assisting the Moberly Police Department in a homicide investigation in the 1500 block of Raleigh Drive.

The highway patrol wrote that Turner got out of the residence after 10 p.m. with a knife. Officers told him to drop the knife, but he did not comply, MSHP wrote in its release. SWAT members used "less lethal devices" and a K-9 before shooting Turner, the release says. Turner was pronounced dead at the scene.

"Part of that was the K-9, the use of the K-9, and then they used a less lethal munition round. So SWAT has special -- that's why they're called -- special weapons and tactics. So they have special weapons that shoot. It's like a foot, almost like a foam baton type weapon,” CPD Chief Jill Schlude said. “You hear about beanbag guns we have things like that similar to that so we consider all those things less lethal."

The investigation is being conducted by the Division of Drug and Crime Control and any report will be passed on to the Boone County prosecuting attorney for review once finished.

Schlude told ABC 17 News on Monday night that four officers have been put on leave.

The Moberly Police Department named the victim in the homicide in a press release. MPD wrote that it responded to a shooting in the 500 block of Moulton Street and found Donald Gene Hickem dead. He was 37.

The Randolph County Coroner ruled the death a homicide.

MPD says that the suspect, Turner, was identified and police were able to get a warrant for his arrest. MPD wrote that it asked for assistance from CPD.

"Their attempts to peacefully take the subject into custody were not successful as reported by CPD’s press release regarding an officer involved shooting in the 1500 block of Raleigh Drive on Feb. 1, 2025," the MPD release says.

MPD says it is continuing to investigate Hickem's death. MPD Chief Troy Linksaid some officers had worked 12-24 consecutive hours. He spoke on the working relationship his department has with CPD.

“We have several officers that worked for CPD, so that really helps with the continuity. We know folks there and of course, they are willing and always eager to come back,” Link said. “So as far as the working relations between the two departments I think is very good. Both agencies, as far as I know, are open to helping the other in any way.”

Schlude said it’s common for CPD to work with other agencies. 

“Recently we had a suspect that we were looking for that ended up being in Mexico, Missouri. We helped find that person, their investigators handled the arrest. So, that's just really mutual aid and law enforcement. We also get them pretty frequently obviously, because we're kind of the biggest municipality in the area,” she said.

Previous Columbia officer-involved shootings

Columbia police have had at least four officer involved shootings since 2021.

In November 2021, Quillan Jacobs was shot and killed by police officers in an alleyway off of Fifth Street. Police accused Jacobs and another person of shooting at each other into a crowd.

Police chased Jacobs into an alley, where video released by police shows officers Turner Schuster and Gardnder Pottorff firing when Jacobs fell and pointed his gun toward officers. 

A special prosecutor cleared the two officers of criminal charges in 2022.

His family and the City of Columbia also settled a lawsuit in July 2024.

In January 2023, Jordan Pruyn, 28, was killed by CPD officers.

Police claim Pruyn rushed at officers with a knife in the 4200 block of Clark Lane, which led to a standoff with authorities for hours. Police said they hit Pruyn with a beanbag but it had no effect. He was then shot and killed. 

The Audrain County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office ruled the officers’ actions were justified.

In August 2023, Marquis Rivera, 22, was shot and killed by police at the Landing Apartment Complex. Police were called twice to the area for a suicidal person.

Police claim Rivera shot into the air and pointed a gun at officers.

Five officers were involved in the deadly shooting, but a special prosecutor in the case did not file charges against them. The Callaway County prosecutor wrote in a memo that charges were not filed because there was an imminent threat to public safety, officers made efforts to de-escalate and the officers’ conduct was reasonable “based on the totality of circumstances.”

Officer leave process

CPD said in a release that it is common practice to put officers on administrative leave. MSHP and CPD's Internal Affairs Unit will also review the shooting to ensure the officers followed Columbia's policy.

In an officer-involved shooting, CPD follows policy 310. The policy states that in cases where a person dies as a result of the actions of an officer, there may be several separate investigations to determine if the officer committed any criminal actions, if the officer's agency is liable for misconduct and to evaluate the suspect's actions.

An outside agency may conduct the investigations on the officer and suspect, such as the MSHP.

Columbia attorney and Columbia Police Officers Association spokesman Donald Weaver said that criminal investigations in cases of a suspect dying or being seriously injured by police are standard protocol.

"Don't read into that at all just because a criminal investigation was initiated to make sure the officer didn't commit any crimes," Weaver said, "It's to communicate and be transparent with the public so the public knows, 'hey, this happened, but it was fully investigated and this was the outcome of the investigation.'"

Weaver added that the MSHP taking over police investigations is also common.

"One of the main reasons is just to avoid any allegations that they're showing favoritism because it's their own officers they're investigating," Weaver said.

According to the policy, in an officer-involved shooting, the first uninvolved officer will take over supervision until a supervisor arrives. The temporary supervising officer should secure the scene, give medical attention to anyone injured, coordinate detaining or pursuing suspects and request any additional resources if needed.

Upon arrival, the supervisor will take over the previous duties and also will move any involved officers away from the scene.

Officers involved will be put on administrative leave for at least three days and ordered to not speak publicly about the case. Involved officers and administrators will also speak with criminal or administrative investigators if an investigation takes place.

During the investigation, autopsy reports, body camera footage and interviews will be reviewed. Weaver said that most officers tend to return from administrative leave within a few weeks.

"A few weeks is usually sufficient time for the agencies to get a pretty good handle on what happened," Weaver said. "They can usually make a decision to put those officers back on full duty before the criminal investigation is, signed, sealed and delivered."