Pubdate: Sun, 15 Sep 2002
Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch (MO)
Section: A
Copyright: 2002 St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Contact:  http://home.post-dispatch.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/418
Author: Heather Ratcliffe

KINLOCH POLICE OFFICER SAYS HE ACCIDENTALLY SHOT MOTORIST

A Kinloch police officer said he accidentally shot a motorist during a 
traffic stop early Saturday then chased the man for 25 miles into Maryland 
Heights.

The officer, Walter Wilson, the former police chief in Kinloch, said he 
stopped the man about 3:40 a.m. at Martin Luther King Boulevard and 
Suburban Avenue in Kinloch.

He suspected the motorist, a 24-year-old man from Bridgeton, was involved 
with a drug transaction, Wilson said.

Wilson says he reached through the car window to grab the man's keys in the 
ignition, and his drawn gun accidentally fired. The shot hit the man in the 
shoulder.

The motorist sped away, knocking Wilson to the ground. Wilson jumped into 
his patrol car and gave chase.

Officers from several departments joined the chase, which ended at a 
cul-de-sac on Galaxy Place in Maryland Heights. Wilson and other police 
officers blocked the suspect with their cars. Wilson fired several more 
shots at the motorist, St. Louis County police said.

Police did not find any drugs on the suspect, Wilson said. The suspect was 
unarmed.

The man was arrested and taken to St. John's Mercy Medical Center, where he 
was in stable condition. Police did not release his name.

After St. Louis County police finish an investigation, prosecutors will 
decide on charges.

Kinloch Police Chief Linda Witfield said Wilson had been placed on 
administrative leave.

Witfield, the former police chief in Wellston, replaced Wilson as chief 
after he was removed July 19. Wilson works as a detective sergeant at the 
Kinloch police department.

Mayor Keith Conway has refused to discuss the reason for the change.

The change came soon after Kinloch business owner Mike Singleton accused 
the police department under Wilson's command of failing to prosecute Marc 
"Smooth" Collins, a suspect in a drive-by shooting in April.
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