An Olathe man tells FOX 4 that he wishes his girlfriend would have put her gun down when police showed up at a home on Wednesday to take her back to jail. Ciara Howard was 26 years old, serving time for a theft charge and on work release, but failed to return to the jail in Gardner.
Instead she went to her boyfriend’s house east of downtown Olathe, where after a standoff, Howard was shot and killed. FOX 4’s Shannon O’Brien talked to Howard’s boyfriend about the tragic end to her life.
Larry Sumners says he didn’t realize Howard had walked away from jail, he thought she was out on a day pass. They arrived back to his house from the store, ready to cook out when they got unexpected visitors.
“As soon as we close the door, someone knocked on the door and I opened it and it was the cops,” Sumners told FOX 4 during an exclusive interview.
The cops were looking for Howard, and once she found out police were there for her, Sumner says she hid in his bedroom with a gun.
“And that is what she was screaming that she didn’t want to go back to jail,” Sumners said.
Police spent several hours trying to talk Howard out of the house. When that didn’t work, they asked Sumners to help. From outside, he pleaded with his girlfriend through the bedroom window.
The distraught family needs to realize she was on probation for a crime, then committed another crime by failing to return and committed a crime by resisting and obstructing arrest with a firearm.
Had she left the house and shot someone before police even arrived, the family would be screaming about the police not arresting her before she did so.
Good shooting. If she was that mentally challenged, the family should sue the ACLU for closing all the psychiatric institutions.
Yes, a good shooting according to the law, but the larger question is “How can we do our jobs without resorting to deadly force.” The “second guessing” is not about them defending themselves but why they put themselves in that position. Could they have waited her out? Used chemical substances to get compliance? The first thing I noticed was that there was no Verbal Judo (tactical communication) used. Was there an attempt to create a repore with her? The dog certainly added to the tension. Was there a trained negotiator available?
I’m sure the family knows her faults. It’s not surprising an EDP makes bad decisions.
Maybe it would have turned out the same if more and different means were used to deal with her but we”ll never know.
Watch the old Verbal Judo tapes/dvd for some insight as to why we need to do
Dan Grasso, you are absolutely correct on all points!
I’m immediately skeptical of a so-called expert opinion when said expert is either too lazy to proofread or too ignorant to spell properly. The word is “rapport.” If you’re an expert, your writings should reflect it. Everything else you’ve written becomes specious at that point.
Unfortunately, my auto correct has, on rare occassions, inserted an incorrect spelling of a word…during the proofreading phase. Perhaps this is what happened with the word that ended up in Dan’s comment?
I have been in a shooting that had the same result. Regardless of how justified it is this is an officers worst nightmare. She was held accountable for her actions. The article tries to pin blame on police for making entry. I’m not sure why they made entry but they must have had information that we don’t have. I refuse to second guess their actions. I hope that all the officers involved sleep well at night and realize that sometimes our job requires us to make the tough decisions under shitty circumstances.
I agree Ricochet Texan and I’m glad you are ok. My agency responds to mental health calls constantly to the point where we even a clinician that is assigned to ride with an officer 4 days a week. This is a tragic situation however this suspect was still a threat and was ARMED. The article seems to try to imply that the officers should have just left and somehow everything would have just worked itself out magically. From a tactical perspective, this is a barricaded armed suspect, period, and needed to be treated as such.
Secondly this suspect was in commission of a felony then proceeded to point a gun at the officers. End of story. They did what they had to do. Tragic all around, but where was the family who should been taking care of her? They are not absolved of responsibility here any more than the suspect. Lest we forget, people are still responsible for their individual actions. Personal responsibility! I know, ridiculous, but it’s still true and doesn’t change the fact that the suspect chose to point a gun at officers and was given multiple chances to comply.
Not the police officers. Not in this nations. Their actions , no matter how heinous, or unnecessary, or how cruel, are excused, because they are cops. The unwillingness to second guess feeds the cycle of bad cop behavior, poor tactics, sadism, cruelty, and just plain stupidity that is getting worse and worse. This is a poorly justified shoot. The suspect was isolated in bathroom, with no hostages aside from herself, and noone else in immediate jeopardy. They ran out of patience. There was no need to force entry. Just wait her out. But no, they have to play the heros, and place themselves where a shoot can be justified. One day the citizenry will have enough and turn on cops. I hope to live to see that day.You are oppressors, you are cowards, you are murderers. You are evil , and you don’t even realize it. Souls of Daniel Shaver, Justine Diamond, Andrew Finch, Ayana Jones are crying for justice, not finding justice they are crying for revenge. There is a reckoning that is required. American law enforcement officer has much to atone and account for. Happy New Year!