By Kim Bell
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
ST. LOUIS — An off-duty St. Charles County sheriff’s deputy shot and killed a would-be robber late Monday night near the Grand Basin area of Forest Park, authorities say. The deputy also shot and wounded two other young men. They were hospitalized Tuesday morning.
The deputy, 36, and a 23-year-old female friend who was with him were uninjured. It happened at about 11:15 p.m. Monday as the deputy and his friend were jogging, according to St. Louis city police homicide investigators who are handling the probe.
St. Charles County Sheriff Tom Neer said that, after talking with his deputy and to St. Louis city homicide investigators, he has every reason to believe this was a justifiable shooting. He said he thinks his deputy — who is “a competent, well-trained deputy” assigned to a federal task force — acted to save his life and possibly the life of the woman with him after being confronted by a gunman.
“If someone is going to rob you and point a gun at you, you can assume they have intent to kill you and take your worldly possessions. That’s what guns do, they kill you,” Neer said in an interview Tuesday morning.
Here is the account of Monday night’s shooting provided by St. Louis city homicide investigators:
It was just after curfew in Forest Park. At the foot of Art Hill, the off-duty deputy and his female friend stopped jogging near the corner of the Grand Basin. A young man walked slowly past them. The deputy grew suspicious, police say, and put his weapon at his side. As the deputy and the woman turned the corner, three men in their late teens to early 20s came toward them and said they were going to rob them. The men were wearing hoodies and dark clothing. They had a gun.
When the deputy saw the gun, he pulled his and opened fire. He told investigators that he had seen a gun and feared for his life. He told investigators that he had identified himself before firing the shots.
The young man who died was 18 years old. Police haven’t released his name. He was shot three times in the lower abdomen and died at the scene.
A second suspect, 20, was shot in the buttocks. He was listed in critical but stable condition at a hospital.
A third suspect, also 20, was shot in the neck. He was hospitalized, but his official condition was unavailable. Police characterized it as guarded and stable.
Police haven’t revealed how many shots the deputy fired but said he used his .40-caliber pistol. The suspect with the gun did not fire his weapon, which was recovered at the scene.
The St. Louis Parks Department said the curfew in Forest Park is 10 p.m. Leah Freeman, a police spokeswoman said that means no one, regardless of age, is allowed in the park between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. except for vehicles passing through.
Freeman said there have been six assaults, one rape and one robbery in Forest Park since Jan. 1. It has had 216 property crimes: 204 reports of larceny and 12 auto thefts, in that same period.
St. Louis police haven’t identified the officer, and Neer refused to release his name. St. Charles County Sheriff’s Lt. Dave Tiefenbrunn said the deputy has worked for the sheriff’s department for six years, plus 10 years before that with two other departments.
Neer described him as “a competent deputy” assigned to criminal investigations. “For about the last year, he’s been assigned to one of our federal task forces, and I don’t assign people to federal task forces if they’re not competent, well-trained and qualified individuals.”
Neer said he supports his deputy. Neer said that, based on his conversations with St. Louis city police, there is nothing to indicate the shooting was anything but justified.
Neer said he didn’t know of any other instance when the deputy fired at someone. As is protocol with his department, Neer said the deputy would be put on administrative leave while the investigation continues.
Neer talked with the deputy by phone after the shooting Monday night.
“He’s dealing with it, and obviously he’s upset over the situation,” Neer said.
Copyright 2013 the St. Louis Post-Dispatch