Officer Shot in Line of Duty

[Guest guest]

Hutchinson, KS PD had an officer shot early Monday morning (April

25) when he initiated a " routine " traffic stop. The officer is OK.

He was struck in the lower calf. The wound did not extend to bone

or muscle.

Below is the article about the shooting that was published in The

Hutchinson News today.

A Hutchinson police officer was shot in the leg during a traffic

stop early Monday morning, the first shooting of an officer here in

more than 30 years.

Investigators say the suspect attempted to shoot at a Reno County

sheriff's deputy trying to arrest him nearly an hour later, but the

gun jammed and didn't fire.

Officers apprehended the suspect - a man released from a Texas

prison less than six weeks ago - about a half mile from where the

initial shooting occurred after citizens called police to report

people running through their back yards.

Officer " Mike " , 25, stopped a white 1973 Ford pickup

in the 1200 block of east 17th Avenue at about 5:50 a.m. Monday,

Police Chief Dick Heitschmidt said.

The truck, which bore Kansas license plates, did not have

functioning brake lights, Heitschmidt said.

As got out of his police car and started toward the

vehicle, the driver of the truck fired at least one shot out of the

window and then sped away from the scene.

" He was able to get on his radio and advise the vehicle description

and the tag number, " Heitschmidt said. " That information was then

put out to the Hutchinson Police Department, the Reno County

Sheriff's Department and the Kansas Highway Patrol. "

Heitschmidt described 's calf wound as a " clear pass-

through. " By 10 a.m., had been released from Hutchinson

Hospital and was recovering at home. He's expected to miss a couple

weeks of work, Heitschmidt said.

Several citizens stopped to help before emergency personnel

arrived.

" We are not aware of who the individuals are, but we want to thank

them for their help, " Heitschmidt said.

At about 6:46 a.m., calls began to come in to police dispatch from

citizens reporting two people were running through their yards.

By 6:50 a.m., two Reno County sheriff's deputies apprehended a man

who was believed to be the driver of the truck, and a woman near the

back yard of 23 Rambler Road. The truck was found later near 17th

and Faircrest.

Tracallen W. Streeter, 43, was taken into custody on a parole

violation out of Texas.

Streeter was charged late in the afternoon Monday with two counts of

attempted first-degree murder, possession of methamphetamine with

intent to sell and criminal possession of a firearm. His bond was

set at $1 million, and a preliminary hearing was set for 1:30 p.m.

May 19.

Besides the shooting of , prosecutors allege Streeter

attempted to shoot Reno County Deputy Matt Tatro when Tatro was

moving in to capture him.

" He pointed the gun and pulled the trigger, " Reno County District

Attorney Schroeder said. " The gun jammed. "

Streeter was then taken into custody without further incident. A

gram of suspected methamphetamine - valued at an estimated $10 - and

a handful of baggies were recovered from his truck.

Schroeder said he's considering other potential charges, including a

possible third attempted murder count related to another officer

approaching Streeter at the same time as Tatro, but in a different

position.

When initially booked, Streeter also was being held on suspicion of

aggravated kidnapping, but that charge wasn't filed.

" The kidnapping charged pertained to information from the female

occupant of the truck, " Schroeder said. " Evidence suggested that she

was held against her will, after the initial shooting of the

officer. But when we reviewed it, we determined there was

insufficient evidence at this point to warrant that charge being

filed. "

The woman's name was not being released, Heitschmidt said, because

she is a witness to the shooting.

Streeter was convicted of aggravated robbery and robbery in Texas in

1981, according to records from the Texas Department of Public

Safety. He was released on parole March 17, records show. His parole

ends in 2031.

Residents along Rambler Road and Meadowlark Lane were stunned to

know the shooting suspect was caught in their north-central

Hutchinson neighborhood. Most were still sleeping when the arrest

was made.

Tim was sitting at his computer when he heard the sirens. His

wife, , and a neighbor beside them saw police apprehend the

suspect behind their home.

" Until it was all over, we really didn't know what happened, " he

said.

He said officers also were looking for something behind his garage.

About 40 minutes later, officers dispersed and the busy morning

settled down.

" This is usually a quiet neighborhood, " he said.

Schwarzentraub said she had a view of the officers tracking

down the two suspects.

" I was in bed when I heard sirens and the police cars, "

Schwarzentraub said. " I could hear tires squealing. "

Then she went to her front door at 17 Rambler and saw police cars

converging on both sides of Rambler Road. She knew they were chasing

someone.

Schwarzentraub said she was scared because she didn't know what had

happened. Fortunately, it was just a matter of minutes before

officers came from the back yard of a house three doors away with

two people in custody, both wearing black jackets.

" I'm glad they got them without anyone else getting hurt, "

Schwarzentraub said.

Dressed in a gray sweatshirt and jeans for a morning news

conference, which took place about four hours after the shooting,

Heitschmidt said such a situation was " the worst thing " that could

happen to a law enforcement administrator, especially after the

deaths of Sheriff Matt s in Greenwood County and Harvey County

Sheriff's Deputy Kurt Ford.

" It's been a bad year for Kansas, " he said. " This is an inherently

dangerous job. "

hutchnews.com is updated by 11 am day of publication. Copyright

2005