No charges against officers who killed suspect in Fairway cop’s death
OLATHE, Kan. — The Johnson County prosecutor will not file charges against two law enforcement officers who shot a suspect accused of killing a Fairway officer.
A Kansas Highway Patrol trooper shot and killed Shannon Marshall in August after a stolen vehicle report led to a deadly police shooting.
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Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe said Marshall fired a shot that later killed Fairway Officer Jonah Oswald. In response, a Kansas trooper and a Mission officer returned fire.
It started on Aug. 6, when Lenexa police responded to a report of a stolen car near Interstate 35 and 95th Street. Police chased the suspects north on I-35 until two suspects crashed the car and ran into a QuikTrip at I-35 and Lamar Avenue.
According to a report from Howe’s office, officers entered the QuikTrip where they arrested a female suspect, Andrea Cothran, accused of stealing the vehicle and driving during the chase.
Howe said body cameras show Marshall refused to exit the gas station bathroom and surrender. As officers attempted to take him into custody, Marshall put his hand through a stall door, now holding a gun, and allegedly shot Oswald.
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The Johnson County prosecutor said a Mission officer briefly exchanged gunfire with Marshall, and the Kansas trooper ultimately shot and killed Marshall.
An autopsy determined Marshall was shot six times, and a toxicology report was positive for methamphetamine, amphetamine and norfentanyl.
Howe announced Monday that neither the trooper or Mission officer would be charged in the shooting, and the use of force was justified, he said.
“The facts of this tense, rapidly changing deadly situation support the conclusion that
these officers reached,” Howe wrote in his report. “In other words, their subjective belief that this was a deadly force situation was supported by objective facts known to them at the time of their
decision.”
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Cothran remains in custody at the Johnson County jail on a $1 million bond. She has been charged with first-degree murder, aggravated battery, fleeing law enforcement, reckless driving and felony theft. Her next court hearing is scheduled for March 25, 2024.
