3/20/2010

A man was shot once by a Kansas Highway Patrol trooper and taken to Salina Regional Health Center after a brief chase Saturday morning through southeast Salina.

Highway Patrol spokesman J.L. Riedel explained the incident this way: At about 9:44 a.m., troopers began pursuing the man on U.S. Highway 81 south of Salina. The chase proceeded at speeds ranging from about 40 miles an hour on Ninth Street into the city. It continued on Schilling and Ohio streets, through a red light at Albert and Ohio, and to Cloud Street where the man’s vehicle turned east.

The man exited his vehicle in the parking lot of Emmanuel Christian Center, 1325 E. Cloud, and attempted to run into the church. He displayed a handgun to the pursuing troopers, and one of them fired once, striking the man in the abdomen. The man was taken to the hospital.

Riedel said the trooper who fired would be placed on administrative leave pending an investigation of the officer-involved shooting by agents from the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. There were at least three highway patrol troopers and a Salina Police Department officer involved in the chase, which lasted about 12 minutes, Riedel said.

Riedel had no information about the shooting victim’s condition.

---

Discuss This Story:

---