Chase leads to fatal shooting in Nevada

Friday, July 22, 2005

By Steve Moyer

Nevada Daily Mail

An officer of the Nevada Police Department fatally shot a suspect during a stop in the parking lot of the Super 8 Motel Thursday night, at approximately 10 p.m. when the driver apparently attempted to run the officer down. Darren Eugene Wallace, 34, Joplin was pronounced dead upon arrival at Nevada Regional Medical Center after the shooting.

Wallace's next of kin were notified of the incident.

According to a press release from the Nevada Police Department, the incident started with an officer attempting to stop a vehicle, driven by Wallace, on East Austin Boulevard at Barrett Street. Police said the vehicle left the city heading south on Barrett Street and a short time later was spotted in the north parking lot of the Super 8 Motel.

Two officers stopped the vehicle in the lot and both got out to confront Wallace.

The vehicle started at the officers at a high rate of speed, going in between the two police vehicles in an apparent attempt to strike one of the officers. The officer targeted by Wallace fired several shots at the vehicle, one shot striking Wallace.

Chief Christine Keim said the space the driver of the vehicle attempted to drive through was very narrow.

"You or I wouldn't try to drive through it," Keim said. "Later we saw where his (Wallace's) car had scraped one of the police vehicles."

Keim said that the officers involved in the shooting needed some time to adjust to the situation and did not release the officers' names.

"We train for this sort of thing but hope we never have to face it," Keim said. "We don't want to put a lot of pressure on the officers right now because additional stress is the last thing they need."

Keim said the department has procedures in place to provide any officer who is involved in a shooting with support and counseling to help them.

The matter is being investigated by the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Vernon County Sheriff's Office.