Man shot by Wichita police has been charged with criminal threat against officer

Prosecutors have charged a man shot by Wichita police in July with criminal threat against an officer.

Christian Joel Washington, 26, was charged July 25 with criminal threat and violating a protection order in connection with a July 14 police shooting near 51st North and Meridian.

Prosecutors allege that Washington “made gestures ... with the intent to place another in fear, or in reckless disregard of the risk of causing such fear.”

A police captain previously said a man “displayed aggressiveness” toward an officer. Though the officer believed the man was brandishing a gun during a July 14 police shooting near 51st North and Meridian, police said, it was later determined he was holding a pouch with a metal piece.

Police were originally called at around 8 p.m. on July 14 to a domestic violence disturbance at a home in the 3100 block of West Keywest Court. A woman reported to 911 dispatchers that her son had a no-contact order with his dad, had been asked to leave the house, might be using methamphetamine, had a history of violence and could be combative with police.

Officers found the man but he started to run when they identified themselves and ignored commands to show his hands.

“After reaching the middle of a field, the suspect abruptly stopped and squared his shoulders to an officer in a shooting-type stance,” Capt. Brent Allred has said. “The suspect continued to appear agitated and was yelling at the officers when he made a prolonged grab at his waistband with his right hand. He drew an object believed to be a handgun.

“The suspect put his hands out to his sides briefly and then quickly extended both hands toward one officer with the object in his hand. The officer then fired three rounds and struck the suspect once in the abdomen.”

Washington was hospitalized before he was booked into jail.

Department spokesman Officer Charley Davidson on Tuesday would not identify the officer who fired the shots.

Department policy prohibits identifying officers involved in shootings, unless if the police chief chooses to release their names. The policy does permit releasing employment dates and current assignments.

Police previously said the officer who fired the shots had been with the department for seven months. Davidson on Tuesday said that was a miscalculation and the officer who fired the shots had been with the department for 11 months.

Criminal threat is a level-nine person felony, among the least serious felonies. State sentencing guidelines show Washington could face up to 13 months of presumptive probation if convicted.

The alleged violation of the protection order, a misdemeanor crime, is classified in court documents as a domestic violence offense. He had been ordered, as part of his probation, to have no contact with someone identified only by their initials.

In court documents, Washington called himself homeless and unemployed. He was issued a $100,000 bond, and he remained in the Sedgwick County Jail on Tuesday.

This story was originally published July 31, 2019 at 5:00 AM.