Man shot multiple times by officers was armed, holding ex-wife in SUV, police say

A 34-year-old man shot multiple times by police in the parking lot of a Braum’s in east Wichita on Thursday night was on parole and holding a BB gun when officers confronted him, Wichita police Capt. Jason Stephens said Friday.

George Phillips was seriously injured but is expected to survive.

Police released more details, including body-cam footage, of the incident during a news conference Friday afternoon. The incident started at around 9 p.m. when a woman called 911 and said that her 37-year-old friend was being threatened by her ex-husband, he said.

Phillips had gone to his ex-wife’s apartment in the 900 block of South Rock and an argument started over property, he said.

She sent a group Snapchat or “other social media message” telling her friends that she was in danger, he said.

“He threatened to kill her and her children and she believed at the time that he was armed with a gun,” he said.

He said they left the apartment and went to the Braum’s near Harry and Rock Road. Officers spotted the SUV that had been described to emergency dispatchers in the parking lot. Police could see there was a “physical altercation” between the two people inside of the vehicle, he said.

“The male was ... physically restraining the victim and preventing her from getting out of the car when officers approached the vehicle,” he said. “While the officers gave verbal commands to get out of the car, they attempted to physically remove Mr. Phillips from the vehicle and they observed a firearm in his hand at that time.”

Phillips was in the passenger seat. The video showed a woman yelling when she opened the door and stumbled out of the driver’s seat. Officers had surrounded the vehicle at that point, the video shows, and one officer can be heard yelling “drop the gun” after another officer opened the passenger door.

Officers fired multiple shots, hitting Phillips.

Police used bandages and a tourniquet on Phillips before he was taken to an area hospital.

Stephens said the woman had abrasions on her neck, side and chest “from an assault that was perpetrated by Mr. Philliips, who was armed with a screwdriver.” The screwdriver was found in the front passenger seat.

The three officers involved in the shooting have been placed on paid administrative leave. The officers have been with the police department for four years, two years and two months, police said.

Phillips was released from prison in December, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections. He has nine convictions, all in Sedgwick County, for aggravated robbery, aggravated escape from custody and drug-related charges.

If you or someone you know is experiencing intimate partner or household member abuse, you can seek help by calling:

• 911
• the Harbor House Domestic Violence Shelter at 316-263-6000
• the Wichita Family Crisis Center at 316-267-7233
• the Wichita Area Sexual Assault Center at 316-263-3002
• StepStone at 316-265-1611
• the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233

This story was originally published March 19, 2021 at 4:00 PM.