Law Enforcement Involved in Shooting

On Wednesday April 12, 2017 Wichita Police Officers were watching a residence in the 1900 block of west Rita. They were trying to locate and arrest a known 25 year old man who was an absconder from the Kansas Department of Corrections. Officers saw a silver 2017 Chevy Cruze leave the residence and believed the suspect was inside the vehicle. At approximately 11:30 p.m. officers attempted to stop the suspect vehicle in the area of Pawnee and Seneca.

The suspect vehicle accelerated and fled from officers east bound on Pawnee. WPD Officers continued to pursue the vehicle through the city of Wichita and surrounding area. At 11:51 p.m., deputies from Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office intercepted the chase in the area of 79th Street South and Hydraulic.

The pursuit continued out of Wichita through the rural areas of Sedgwick, Cowley, and Sumner counties. Shortly before midnight, the suspect in the fleeing vehicle shot at the pursuing deputies in the area of 103 rd Street South and Hydraulic Avenue. Shots were again fired from the fleeing vehicle shortly after midnight near Kansas Highway 15 and Geuda Springs Road in Cowley County.

The fleeing vehicle came to a stop in the 1100 block of K-15 Highway in Sumner County. A woman in the vehicle and the suspect both came out of the passenger side of the vehicle. The suspect was holding the woman as a shield with a gun to her head. The suspect fired two shots at law enforcement officers before he released the woman and started running. Five law enforcement officers fired at the suspect. The suspect was struck and went down. At least one shot was fired by the suspect while he was lying on the ground.

The suspect was taken in to custody and EMS was requested while immediate life saving measures were attempted. Paramedics pronounced the suspect dead at the scene.

The suspect in this case has been identified as Charles S. Johnston, age 25 of Wichita.

It is unfortunate anytime someone is injured or killed in a use of force event. Whenever an incident such as this occurs we conduct a thorough investigation to determine if there were any violations of law or policy.

The Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office is the lead agency in this investigation with the assistance of Sumner County, the Wichita Police Department, and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. The Sheriff’s Office case number is 17S003761.

The Wichita Police Department case number is 17C024224.

Photos attached to this email show a bullet fired by the suspect striking the ground in front of a law enforcement officer (photo 1) and show the female being held with a gun to her head (photo 2 and photo 3).