KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Authorities say a man charged with killing a Clinton, Missouri, police officer during a traffic stop has been arrested.
Missouri State Highway Patrol dispatchers say 39-year-old Ian McCarthy of Clinton was taken into custody Tuesday night in Henry County. Additional information about McCarthy’s arrest was not immediately available.
Ian McCarthy, the suspect in the shooting death of a Clinton Police Officer is in custody. More information to follow. pic.twitter.com/v8jrSYGprJ
— MSHP Troop A (@MSHPTrooperA) August 9, 2017
Prosecutors on Monday charged McCarthy with first-degree murder in the death of Officer Gary Michael, who was shot during a traffic stop Sunday night.
Michael’s brother, Chris, says his family was aware that the officer could be hurt but didn’t believe it would happen in Clinton, a town of just 9,000 people about 75 miles (120.7 kilometers) southeast of Kansas City.
Gary Michael had been on the force less than a year and was the first officer killed in the line of duty in Clinton.
CLINTON, Mo. (AP) — The Latest on the fatal shooting of a western Missouri police officer during a traffic stop (all times local):
Radio dispatch audio offers insight into the chaos that followed the fatal shooting of Clinton, Missouri, police Officer Gary Michael.
The Kansas City Star on Monday obtained an audio recording of police dispatches in the moments surrounding the shooting.
Michael had stopped a 2008 Dodge Nitro for a registration violation Sunday night. Ten seconds later came word that shots were fired and an officer was struck.
An officer requested an ambulance “immediately.” An emergency worker advised that the officer had been shot twice in the chest and was in cardiac arrest.
Update: Henry CO PA has issued an arrest warrant for Ian McCarthy for Murder 1st Degree & Armed Criminal Action.
— MSHP Troop A (@MSHPTrooperA) August 7, 2017
The suspect, 39-year-old Ian McCarthy, remains on the loose but has been charged with first-degree murder. Authorities were searching for McCarthy in the Clinton area, about 75 miles southeast of Kansas City.
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11:45 a.m.
The suspect in the shooting death of a western Missouri police officer has been charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action.
The charges were filed Monday in Henry County against 39-year-old Ian McCarthy of Clinton, in the shooting death of Clinton police officer Gary Michael.
Authorities were searching for McCarthy Monday in the Clinton area, about 75 miles (120 kilometers) southeast of Kansas City.
Michael was shot after he stopped a car in Clinton on Sunday night.
Missouri State Highway Patrol spokesman Bill Lowe says the driver of the car jumped out and fired at Michael. The officer was able to return fire but it was unclear if the suspect was hit.
8:00 a.m.
Authorities searched a home but came up empty-handed in the hunt for a person of interest in the fatal shooting of a western Missouri police officer.
Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Bill Lowe says 39-year-old Ian McCarthy of Clinton is wanted for questioning in the death of 37-year-old Clinton police officer Gary Michael during a traffic stop late Sunday.
Alert: Person of Interest in the fatal shooting of a Clinton Police Officer:
Ian McCarthy, 39, of Clinton. Any info call 911. pic.twitter.com/SIS2RwuHBK— MSHP Troop A (@MSHPTrooperA) August 7, 2017
Lowe said Monday that the car Michael stopped is registered to McCarthy.
He says the driver jumped out of the car and fired at the officer, who was able to return fire. The suspect drove about three blocks before crashing his car and fleeing on foot. Lowe says Michael was “heroic right to the end.”
Michael was a lifelong resident of Clinton and leaves behind a wife and stepsons.
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CLINTON, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri State Highway Patrol says authorities are looking for a man who shot and killed a western Missouri police officer during a traffic stop.
Missouri Highway Patrol Sgt. Bill Lowe told KSHB-TV that Clinton Officer Gary Michael died late Sunday after stopping a driver near Clinton, about 75 miles (120 kilometers) southeast of Kansas City.
Lowe says the driver of a Dodge Nitro believed to be 39-year-old Ian McCarthy got out of the vehicle during the traffic stop and started shooting.
He says the 37-year-old Michael returned fire but that the suspect got back into the car and drove off before crashing two blocks away.
Tactical teams have cordoned off the area around the crash and are searching for the suspect Monday.
No further details have been released.