Rural officer who killed drunk and suicidal man won’t face charges

A rural Kansas police officer who said he would “smoke” a drunk and suicidal man who pointed a gun at him will not face criminal charges for shooting the man in the face and killing him.

The unidentified Marion police officer shot and killed Robb Stewart, 50, in Lehigh in June after responding to a call of an armed, drunk and suicidal man, Marion County Attorney Courtney Boehm said in a release. Lehigh is a town of about 175 residents about 50 miles north of Wichita.

Stewart pointed a silver Smith and Wesson at the officer and ignored shouted commands before going back into a workshop, the release said.

That’s when the Marion officer told another officer he would “smoke him” if Stewart came out of the workshop again, the release said.

Fifteen minutes later, Stewart came out of the workshop, and the officer shot his DPMS Panther Arms AR-15 .223 caliber rifle five times, with a round going through Stewart’s jaw.

Officers from the Marion and Hillsboro police departments and the Marion County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call on June 20 at 6:08 p.m. from Stewart’s daughter-in-law, saying the man was armed, drunk and suicidal and had gotten in a fight with his son.

Officers saw Stewart, with a gun in his hand, go to a workshop near his home in the 400 block of East Maria in Lehigh, which police were told may contain more guns.

The four officers positioned themselves around the workshop as a Kansas Highway Patrol negotiator was summoned, the release said. Officers were unsuccessful when they tried to communicate with Stewart.

Stewart emerged from the workshop with the gun in his hand at around 6:25 p.m. and pointed it at the Marion officer, the release said. Two officers wearing ballistic vests inscribed with “police” shouted commands such as “freeze,” “put your hands up” and “put the gun down,” but Stewart did not respond and went back into the workshop.

That’s when the Marion officer shouted to the Hillsboro officer that Stewart had pointed the gun at him, and he would “smoke” Stewart if he came out of the workshop again, the release said.

The officer told the Kansas Bureau of Investigation later that he feared for his life, the other officers and civilians in the area.

Stewart came out of the workshop 15 minutes later, at around 6:40 p.m., still holding the gun, and officers shouted commands at him.

“I’ve got it right here for you,” Stewart said, holding the gun up, the release said.

The officer then shot Stewart, taking Stewart’s statement as a threat, the release said.

An ambulance was called. When it arrived about five minutes later, Stewart was pronounced dead.

But the ambulance did take one man to the hospital: the officer who fired the shot. He was experiencing tightness in his chest and had difficulty breathing, the release said.

Multiple officers had body cameras, but officials did not release any video of the encounter.

The autopsy found that Stewart died from a gunshot that struck the right side of his face. He was found to be intoxicated with alcohol, and oxycodone was in his blood at a “therapeutic and pharmacologically significant range.”

“The information uncovered during the course of the investigation revealed no evidence that the officer’s use of force in self-defense was unreasonable under the circumstances he encountered,” Boehm said in the release.

This story was originally published January 10, 2018 at 5:18 PM with the headline "Rural officer who killed drunk and suicidal man won’t face charges."