Platte County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Zahnd has determined that Leavenworth, Kansas police officers were justified when they shot a man who had fled from a rape scene. Johnathan Heath-Taylor died after being shot on Highway 92 before Stillings Road in Platte County in the early morning hours of August 10, 2023.
Zahnd said, "This man had just committed a forcible felony, and he repeatedly refused officers' commands. He then quickly reached into a backpack and pulled out what officers believed was a gun and pointed it at them. For the safety of themselves and other motorists, officers fired, and Mr. Heath-Taylor later died from those gunshots. It's a tragic outcome that the officers did everything they could to avoid."
After Heath-Taylor fled the rape scene on August 10, 2023, he led officers on a chase through Leavenworth. Officers successfully stopped his car once, but Heath-Taylor drove away as officers approached with their weapons drawn.
Heath-Taylor later pulled over on Highway 92 before Stillings Road at 1:46 a.m. Officers gave Heath-Taylor multiple commands, which he refused. Instead, Heath-Taylor told officers, “You might as well just do it. Just go ahead and shoot me. Just get it over with. You are going to have to shoot me, I am not going back to jail." Heath-Taylor had also sent a text message to his father prior to the incident, saying, “Love you papa. . . I’m a lost cause.”
Prior to the shooting, one of the officers told Heath-Taylor, “Please don’t do this. It is not worth it,” The officer also said, “Please don’t make me do this,” and “We are begging you not to do this. We do not want to hurt you.”
As traffic approached the scene, officers shot two bean bag rounds at Heath-Taylor. Heath-Taylor then quickly pulled his hand from inside a backpack, He pulled his hand out, holding a black object in his hand and pointed it in the direction of the officers. Multiple officers stated they believed this motion indicated Mr. Heath-Taylor had a gun and was pointing it at them, though the object was likely a cell phone, as no gun was found near Heath-Taylor.
Multiple officers fired their weapons at Mr. Heath-Taylor, and he later died at North Kansas City Hospital.
Zahnd issued a 15-page report explaining his decision and cataloguing the evidence prosecutors reviewed before reaching the decision. Prosecutors reviewed 365 pages of documents, as well as multiple videos and audio interviews, including footage from officers' dash and body cameras.
Zahnd released still photos and video from the moments just before the shooting.
“Leavenworth police officers tried everything possible before discharging their weapons. In the end, to protect themselves and other motorists, they were forced to shoot Mr. Heath-Taylor. Missouri law authorizes law enforcement officers to use deadly force to protect themselves and others, and their actions were reasonable and justifiable given the circumstances.”
Zahnd’s report ends by stating that the matter is considered closed and the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office will not consider action of any kind against the law enforcement officers involved.
The shooting was investigated by the Platte County Sheriff’s Department. In addition to Zahnd, First Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Mark Gibson and Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Sydney Alizadeh participated in the review and decision-making process related to the officers’ use of force.
A copy of the report can be found here