Duty Death: Jonah Oswald - [Fairway]
End of Service: 07/08/2023
By Bill Lukitsch, Anna Spoerre
The Kansas City Star
FAIRWAY, Kan. — The police officer who was critically wounded during a Sunday morning shootout at a Johnson County gas station died in the hospital on Monday, according to police.
The officer, identified as 29-year-old Jonah Oswald, was a four-year sworn member of the Fairway Police Department. Fairway Chief of Police J.P. Thurlo said in a statement Monday night that he was “heartbroken at the tragic loss,” saying Oswald “made the ultimate sacrifice while carrying out his oath to serve and protect.”
“Officer Oswald was an integral part of our team and made significant contributions to our department and to the Fairway community,” Thurlo said. “We will remember him as a warm-hearted individual whose hard work and passion touched the lives of many.”
Oswald was a husband and a father to two young children, Thurlo said. He expressed sympathies and condolences to the officer’s family and friends in the wake of his death.
The shooting began with a police chase led by police in Lenexa that ended at the QuikTrip at 4700 Lamar Ave. in Mission, just west of Fairway. Officers from other area departments assisted with the report of a stolen car whose driver allegedly rammed a police cruiser and fled.
Two suspects, a man and a woman, were seen running into the convenience store as officers — including Oswald — from several agencies responded to arrest them. Police have said Oswald was critically wounded and the male suspect was killed during an exchange of gunfire.
The suspect killed Sunday morning was identified by police as Shannon Wayne Marshall, 40, of Ashland City, Tennessee.
The second suspect, Andrea Rene Cothran, 32, of Goodlettsville, Tennessee, is being held without bond at the Johnson County jail. She faces a charge of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, according to the jail booking information, and was scheduled to make her initial court appearance Monday afternoon.
The Johnson County Officer-Involved Critical Incident Investigation Team, which is comprised of various area law enforcement agencies, is investigating the shooting.
The Sunday morning shooting
Officers responded around 7:30 a.m. to the area of West 95th Street and Interstate 35 to reports of a stolen vehicle, according to Lenexa Master Police Officer Danny Chavez.
As officers were investigating the theft, a person driving the car believed to be stolen hit a Lenexa patrol vehicle, then drove away, Chavez said. Officers chased the car north on I-35 until the driver stopped near Lamar Avenue and I-35 in Mission. Police said two people in the suspect vehicle then ran into a nearby QuikTrip.
Officers from other agencies followed the pair into the QuikTrip. From there, gunfire rang out, Chavez said.
The man was declared dead at the scene, Chavez said.
Chavez told reporters at the scene that it’s not yet known how many shots were fired, or by whom. Multiple agencies were on the scene at the time, including Lenexa police, Fairway police, Mission police and the Kansas Highway Patrol.
Police radio captures tense moments
Police radio traffic recorded on the website Broadcastify offered further detail Monday of the response by officers.
It started with a vehicle theft reported from another QuikTrip near 95th Street and I-35. As police were in chase, a dispatcher relayed that the vehicle had struck a patrol car.
Then there were reports of a crash near the Lamar Avenue exit off I-35.
“We are getting a call from the QuikTrip,” the dispatcher said. “It’s a black SUV wrecking out at the exit. Subjects ran from the vehicle. A heavy set white female and a white male in biker’s vests.”
Other officers told dispatchers that they would respond to the area to help set up a perimeter.
“Subjects might possibly be inside the QuikTrip according to Lenexa’s notes,” the dispatcher said.
Soon after, a dispatcher advised that shots had been fired. There was an officer down.
Another dispatcher advised that officers at the scene were requesting an officer with a ballistic shield to respond.
“Suspect is in a bathroom there at the QuikTrip,” a dispatcher advised. “They are not detained and not down. They are requesting a shield.”
The suspect was armed, the dispatcher advised. The dispatcher also advised a “patient” had been moved out of the building so emergency medical crews could safely respond.
Shortly thereafter, dispatchers advised that Lenexa police said the suspect was dead.
The Star’s Robert A. Cronkleton contributed to this report.
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