Man killed in police shooting identified

Law enforcement officials on Thursday identified the man who was killed in an officer-involved shooting earlier that day south of Wichita.

Sedgwick County Sheriff Jeff Easter said that Charles S. Johnston, 25, took a woman hostage and fired at officers late Wednesday night after leading police on a chase that spanned four counties in south-central Kansas.

Just after midnight, law enforcement officers shot and killed Johnston, Easter said, north of K-15 and North Geuda Springs Road, which is about 6 miles south of Mulvane.

Johnston, of Wichita, was on parole with the Kansas Department of Corrections at the time of his death. He was living in Sedgwick County but absconded on April 5, according to KDOC records.

Wichita Police Chief Gordon Ramsay said officers had been watching Johnston at a house in the 1900 block of West Rita on Wednesday when he left in a 2017 Chevrolet Cruze that had been reported stolen.

When Wichita police officers attempted to stop the vehicle in the area of Pawnee and Seneca at about 11:30 p.m., Ramsay said, the car sped east on Pawnee, leading to a chase south of Wichita.

In the area of Hydraulic and 79th Street, east of Derby, Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office deputies joined the chase, Ramsay said.

Easter said Wichita police asked to use a GPS tracking dart that the sheriff’s office recently began using. The device, Easter said, needs to be about 20 feet from its target when it’s deployed to properly stick.

“At that point, the deputy started following (the Chevy Cruze) and took the lead in the chase,” Easter said. “As he got close enough to the vehicle to deploy the system, a passenger in the car (thought to be Johnston) shot at the deputy near 103rd South and Hydraulic. Every time we got close, we got shot at.”

The pursuit, Easter said, continued through part of Butler County before someone from the vehicle fired again at deputies near K-15 and North Geuda Springs Road. At that point, Easter said, the car veered into a ditch and eventually stopped and a woman came out of the passenger side with her hands up. Johnston grabbed her and held her hostage with a handgun, he said.

Easter said Johnston fired two rounds while holding the woman hostage before turning to run. As he ran, he fired at the deputies and officers. It was at that point, Easter said, that five law enforcement officers shot at him, killing him.

No law enforcement officers were injured. Wichita police officers and deputies from Sedgwick and Sumner counties were at the scene.

The Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday released several photos of the incident, including some that appear to show a man, thought to be Johnston, holding another person at gunpoint.

Johnston was on parole after serving a prison sentence for aggravated battery, obstruction and fleeing or attempting to elude law enforcement convictions out of Saline County in two cases from 2013, records show. He also has an aggravated battery conviction for a January 2011 Saline County crime, according to KDOC records.

In September, Johnston was arrested on suspicion of murder after Brandon Kirksey was shot and killed in west Wichita. Johnston was never charged in the case, as it was ruled that he acted in self-defense.

Easter said it won’t be known how many rounds were fired by both parties until all the forensic evidence is gathered and examined. The incident will continue to be investigated, he said.

“We are very fortunate that we’re not standing here talking about a police officer who has been shot and killed,” Ramsay said at the news conference.

Authorities think Johnston was likely in the passenger seat of the car for the duration of the chase, Easter said. He added that Johnston and the woman were familiar with each other.

This story was originally published April 13, 2017 at 4:43 PM with the headline "Man killed in police shooting identified."