Man dies after he was shot by Wichita officers during attempted arrest, police say

A man has died after he was shot by Wichita police officers as he almost hit them with a vehicle, officials said.

Police on Monday identified the man shot by the officers as Geoffrey Morris, 29, of Wichita. He died of his injuries on Saturday, Officer Charley Davidson said in a news release.

The shooting happened on Thursday when officers attempted to arrest Morris in the parking lot of the Sedgwick County Corrections Office, 905 N. Main, police said. The officers are part of a team that specializes in arresting violent offenders, and Morris had warrants for his arrest alleging multiple violent crimes.

Morris had parked a red 2008 Ford Focus outside the corrections office around 1 p.m. Thursday, and his 26-year-old girlfriend got out of the car and went into the office, Davidson said in the release. A Kansas Department of Corrections employee then pulled behind the car as two Wichita police officers approached the front of the vehicle.

The officers drew their handguns and gave Morris verbal commands to get out of the car, police said.

But Morris didn’t get out.

Instead, he reversed the car and rammed the Department of Corrections vehicle behind him, police said. Then he pulled forward and turned toward the officers, almost striking them.

The two officers fired several rounds at the car, and Morris was struck multiple times, the release said.

Morris continued driving the vehicle over a parking block and into a metal pole then into a concrete pillar before crossing Main Street and crashing into a concrete fence, police said. Morris was taken to a hospital in critical condition. Emergency radio traffic indicated he was unresponsive after he was shot in the head.

One officer cut his arm on a broken window when getting Morris out of the car.

Investigators found a gun in the car and determined its tag had been reported stolen in Sedgwick County.

Morris had multiple felony warrants for his arrest, including two in Sedgwick County. The charges included aggravated robbery, aggravated battery and aggravated assault.

In one case, Morris allegedly “pointed a handgun and threatened loss prevention employees to avoid apprehension,” police said. In another, a shot was fired when he and other suspects entered a home and then stole from and battered three victims, the release said.

Before Thursday’s shooting, law enforcement had made multiple attempts to have Morris turn himself in peacefully, the release said.

The officers involved in the shooting have been with the department for five years and 13 years. Both are part of the Violent Crimes Task Force, which focuses on arresting the most violent offenders, police say. They have been placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard procedure in officer-involved shootings.

Morris has previous convictions in Sedgwick County, including aggravated battery, aggravated burglary, theft and drug crimes, KDOC prison records show. He was discharged from the corrections system in January 2018 after his sentence expired.

Morris’ death is the first homicide of 2019, police said.

The 2018 homicide rate was higher than previous years, in part due to an increase in justified homicides.

This story was originally published January 14, 2019 at 4:49 PM.