Steven Mccullough was Wielding a Knife as He Charged a Police Officer, and The Police Were Justified in Firing at Him, The District Attorney Says
By Stan Finger, Kansas.com
The shooting of Steven McCullough by a Wichita police officer on March 18 was a justifiable use of force, Sedgwick County District Attorney Nola Foulston announced Tuesday.
McCullough, 42, died after he was shot three times by one officer as he charged another officer with a knife at Kingston Cove Apartments in south Wichita.
According to Foulston’s report, McCullough called 911 shortly after 11 a.m., claiming that someone was in his apartment.
When officers arrived, they found McCullough in his living room, holding a knife. When an officer asked him to put the knife down, McCullough refused, saying, “You’re gonna have to shoot me if you want me to put it down,” the report said.
Negotiations continued, but McCullough said he wanted to die and kept insisting that police would have to shoot him.
When McCullough began walking toward the officer with the knife, the officer retreated out of the apartment and partially closed the door. McCullough put the knife on a table and sat down, then came toward the door at the officer’s request, according to the report.
Hoping to subdue McCullough, the officer sprayed mace at him, but he grabbed the knife and chased the officer out of the apartment. Another officer, providing backup, shot McCullough as he pursued the first officer, the report said.
McCullough was pronounced dead at Via Christi Regional Medical Center-St. Francis Campus. He had paranoid schizophrenia. He gave officers no explanation for why he wanted to die.