District Attorney: Only Topeka officer's quick reflexes saved him from man he fatally shot Dec. 1

A Topeka police officer's quick reflexes and reaction time "appear to be the only reason why he was not himself injured or killed" Dec. 1 when he fatally shot a Topeka man, said Shawnee County District Attorney Mike Kagay.

The officer was approaching Dylan Walstrom, who sat in the driver's seat of a stolen car with the driver's side door open, when he saw Walstrom held a handgun and was turning it toward the officer, said a report by Kagay's office.

The officer quickly closed the gap to keep Walstrom from getting the gun turned all of the way toward him, used his left hand to grab the gun by its slide and struggled with Walstrom to keep it pointed away from him, the report said.

As Walstrom fired a single shot that struck the front driver's side window and rear-view mirror, the officer pulled his own handgun with his right hand and shot Walstrom nine times, killing him, the report said.

Threat presented itself very quickly, report says

Kagay compiled the 15-page report after reviewing results of a Kansas Bureau of Investigation probe into the fatal shooting of Lowery, 28, which occurred about 6:50 a.m. Dec. 1 in the alleyway east of the 2000 block of S.W. Lincoln.

Kagay concluded the officer, whose name has not been made public, acted justifiably in firing all nine shots.

He said the district attorney's office won't seek to prosecute the officer criminally

"Toxicology revealed that Walstrom was under the influence of amphetamine, methamphetamine and Delta 9 THC at the time of his death," the report added.

It was accompanied by 17 still photo images, including 11 taken using police body camera as the situation was in progress.

More: Topeka police acted justifiably in firing 34 shots and killing man, DA's report says

What led to the Dec. 1 police shooting?

The officer was on routine patrol when he saw the car, a Chevrolet Aveo, blocking the alleyway where it was parked, said the report by Kagay's office.

It gave this account of what happened next:

The officer checked the car's license plate with dispatchers and determined it had been reported stolen the previous day.

The officer drew his handgun, approached the car's passenger's side and saw Walstrom asleep in the driver's seat.

The officer knocked on the passenger's side door window and identified himself as a police officer.

Walstrom awoke and unlocked the passenger's side door.

The officer again identified himself as a police officer. He told Walstrom the car was stolen and ordered him to remove the keys from the ignition and place them on the dashboard. Walstrom complied.

The officer then ordered Walstrom to put his hands on his steering wheel.

Instead, Walstrom began digging around in the car's console for his cell phone, and began opening the driver's side door.

The officer holstered his handgun, came around the back of the car on foot and saw Walstrom's door was fully open and Walstrom was looking down. He then saw Walstrom was holding a handgun.

The threat presented itself so quickly that it is difficult to recognize the threat in watching the video at normal speed, the report said.

"Only in slowing the video down, or watching frame-by-frame, can you see what was described by officer," it said. "In the timespan of approximately four seconds, officer comes around the rear of the car, sees the firearm being presented, closes the gap (about half of the length of the car), grabs the firearm with his left hand while it is being discharged, draws his own duty weapon and fires nine times."

More: Topeka police acted justifiably June 24 in fatally shooting man who had knife, D.A. says

Dylan Walstrom served prison time on convictions for drug crime, theft

Walstrom had been on parole since June, according to records posted online by the Kansas Department of Corrections.

Those records said Walstrom had served Kansas prison time for:

• A felony drug crime, committed in September 2016.

• Two convictions for felony theft, one each committed in July 2018 and May 2020.

• Interference with a law enforcement officer, committed in July 2019.

• And fleeing or attempting to elude a law enforcement officer by someone who has two or more convictions for that crime, committed in August 2020.

Contact Tim Hrenchir at threnchir@gannett.com or 785-213-5934.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Fatal shooting by Topeka police officer ruled to have been justified