No charges filed against Kansas deputy who killed man this summer

No charges will be filed against the deputy who fatally shot a man after a struggle with an officer in August, the McPherson County attorney said Tuesday.

The incident began on Aug. 24 at around 10:30 p.m. when someone called 911 about burglaries to vehicles in the 300 block of Lakeshore Drive.

When confronted by residents, William Holmes, 24, and Kenneth C. Herrod, 22, left in a car, and almost hit one of the residents, police said in August.

Arriving Newton police officers found the car, but Holmes led them on a chase, according to a report released from Harvey County Attorney Greg Benefiel.

After the chase went into McPherson County, the car lost its front driver’s wheel and stopped near mile marker 51 on I-135 at 11:01 p.m.

Newton police Cpl. Tony Hawpe, with his police dog Bella, and Deputy Chris Somers, Deputy Jason Achilles from the McPherson County Sheriff’s Office arrived.

Holmes’ window was one-third open and he yelled, “shoot me” at the officers, the report says.

Hawpe, Somers and Achilles discussed using bean bags from a “less lethal” shotgun to break the window. At that time, Holmes reached out of the window and opened the driver’s door and left the car, the report says.

He raised his hands and continued to yell at officers.

“Almost immediately officers deployed less lethal options including two bean bag rounds and a Taser,” the report says. “The driver showed no compliance reaction to these efforts.”

Bella was also let go. Holmes kicked at the dog and Hawpe got a few feet away from him and they began to struggle, the report says.

Holmes flipped Hawpe onto his back, and Hawpe called Bella off. He told the Kansas Bureau of Investigation that he believed Holmes was reaching for his gun and yelled to the deputies, “Watch my gun. Watch my gun.”

The report says that almost immediately after he called out, another person shouted, “I have it. I have it.”

Video and audio recordings don’t make clear who said that, but the report says investigators believe it was Holmes. One of the deputies then hit Holmes with the butt-end of a shotgun, then Somers fired a single round into Holmes’ back, the report says.

Hawpe believed the shot was from a Taser and punched Holmes in the face six to seven times. After handcuffing Holmes, all three officers began providing first aid to him, the report says.

The entire incident from the time the car stopped to when the shot was fired took three minutes and 11 seconds. From the time the Holmes left the car to when the shot was fired was 21 seconds, and 12 seconds after Hawpe begins struggling with Holmes, the report says.

The report says Somers believed Hawpe’s life was in danger. The report also concluded that there’s no evidence showing Holmes had the gun, but the two deputies had reason to believe he did. The shooting was investigated by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.

This story was originally published December 12, 2017 at 12:17 PM with the headline "No charges filed against Kansas deputy who killed man this summer."