A Hutchinson Police officer who shot and killed a woman armed with a pellet gun in March is cleared of any wrong doing in the incident.
Reno County District Attorney Thomas Stanton released the findings of the investigation yesterday.
According to the Hutchinson Police Department, on March 29th officers were dispatched to a residential neighborhood near North Adams Street and West 28th. Reports indicated a woman in the area pointing a rifle at nearby residences. Four H-P-D officers arrived to find 50-year-old Cassandra Scott of Hutchinson in the street and armed with a rifle.
Shortly after officers made contact with suspect, she pointed the rifle at officers, prompting one to fire multiple shots, striking Scott. EMS was called to the scene and transported the woman to the Hutchinson Regional Medical Center. She was later transferred to a Wichita hospital, where she was pronounced deceased.
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation was called in to investigate the shooting. According to yesterday's statement, the investigation established that Cassandra Scott had made several threatening statements about shooting people. Scott pointed the gun at numerous officers and refused lawful commands to drop her weapon. Officers attempted to reason with Scott for over two minutes to drop the gun and talk to the officers.
Staton stated, "The Hutchinson Police Officer involved in this incident reacted based on both an objective and subjective reasonable belief that the use of lethal force was necessary to protect themselves and other citizens from great bodily injury or death. The Hutchinson Police Officer’s actions were legally justified. It is my conclusion that the officer is absolved from any wrongdoing."
