Man who died in parking lot shooting involving police shot himself first, sheriff says

The man killed July 31 in the McDonald’s parking lot shot himself in the head before being shot four times by a Wichita officer in the arm and torso, Sedgwick County Sheriff Jeff Easter said Tuesday.

Brennan Russell, 29, died at the scene.

The sheriff’s office released a still photo, short video clip and a narrative of what happened. The sheriff’s office investigated the shooting as part of the protocol implemented since Wichita police Chief Joe Sullivan took over in fall 2022.

The officer fired five times.

Here’s what the sheriff’s office says happened based on reports from police, body cam footage and interviews with the driver and passenger in the vehicle:

Two officers were staked out near a suspected drug house in the 500 block of North Volutsia when a vehicle pulled up with an altered and expired tag. The sticker had been stolen and placed on the tag, Easter said.

Russell was on the porch. He knew the driver and asked for a ride.

The officers stopped the vehicle at 11:18 p.m. The driver pulled into the McDonald’s parking lot 500 block of North Hillside, which is across the street from Wesley Medical Center.

One officer approached the driver side; the other on the passenger side. Russell was making movement under the seat, Easter said.

The officer on the passenger side asked Russell to step out. He also noticed what later tested to be fentanyl on the floorboard in the back seat and drug residue on the Russell’s hands.

“The individual refused to get out,” Easter said. “At that point, the officer told him he was under arrest and a small struggle started inside of the vehicle. The officer, when he was grabbing ahold of his shirt, pulled his shirt off.”

The officer then used his Taser.

“At this point we are trying to figure out if the Taser actually operated or not,” Easter said. “At that point, Mr. Russell reached into his right front pocket of his shorts and drew a firearm and pointed it at the officer.”

Video shared from the sheriff’s office shows the man pull out the gun, pointed in the direction of the officer. The officer still has his Taser out at that point.

“The officer transitioned ... from his Taser to his handgun and at that point a shot went off and then the officer fired five rounds into the vehicle,” Easter said, adding “He retreats off to the side ... and fires round almost simultaneously as the individual shot himself.”

Officers reported shots fired at 11:21 p.m., three minutes after the traffic stop.

Officers started CPR at 11:23 p.m. Russell died at the scene. Russell’s autopsy and toxicolgy are still pending.

Easter said the only video they have at this point is from the bodycam footage.

Easter said the body cam from an officer at the rear of the car more definitively shows the man raise the gun to his head.

“The suspect received what we believe to be a fatal gunshot wound to the head. Plus, he was struck at least four times by those ... that the officer discharged at him.”

This is the city’s third officer-involved fatal shooting of the year; one of those involved a deputy on the joint Wichita police and sheriff’s office SWAT team. There were no fatal shootings by officers in 2023 and one in 2022.

The officer who fired shots has been with the department for six years and was placed on administrative leave, Wichita police spokesperson Andrew Ford said in an email.

Ford did not say if the officer has been involved in any shootings in the past.

This story was originally published August 6, 2024 at 1:21 PM.