A Fairway police officer shot during an exchange of gunfire with a suspect at a Mission gas station Sunday morning has died, according to Fairway Police.
Jonah Oswald, 29, was a four-year veteran of the Fairway police force, a police statement Monday night said.
“I am heartbroken at the tragic loss of Officer Jonah Oswald, who made the ultimate sacrifice while carrying out his oath to serve and protect,” Fairway Police Chief J.P. Thurlo said.
“Officer Oswald was an integral part of our team and made significant contributions to our department and to the Fairway community. We will remember him as a warm-hearted individual whose hard work and passion touched the lives of many,” Thurlo said.
Oswald leaves behind a wife and two young children.
According to the nonprofit website Officer Down Memorial Page, Fairway had not had an officer killed in the line of duty before Oswald.
One suspect dead, a second in custody
Two suspects were involved in the incident: one of them was killed, and the other was taken into custody.
What happened Sunday
Using recorded radio traffic, the Post was able to review the moments leading up to the fatal exchange of gunfire.
At 7:35 a.m. Sunday, two Lenexa officers were dispatched to the QuikTrip at 12355 W. 95th St., on a report of a Jeep Cherokee stolen from the parking lot.
At 7:39, an officer reported he was following that same Jeep as it circled the parking lot of a nearby Radisson Hotel, 12601 West 95th Street.
Officers following the Jeep reported that a white female, now identified as Cothran, was driving around the area of several hotels south of 95th Street.
“She’s not stopping. She’s pretty frantic,” one officer can be heard saying over the radio.
The vehicle then pulled into the Quality Inn & Suites parking lot, 12601 West 96th Terr., where at 7:42, an officer reported the suspect “rammed one of the police cars.”
An officer is heard saying that the Jeep jumped a curb and returned to the Radisson Hotel’s parking lot, and then a man ran out of the hotel and jumped into the passenger’s side of the stolen Jeep.
Police have since identified that man as Marshall.
A high-speed pursuit into Mission
At around 7:45 a.m., officers began pursuing the Jeep as it entered northbound Interstate 35 from 95th Street.
At 7:45 a.m., a supervisor asked what charges officers have on the driver. An officer responded aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer.
Another officer asked the supervisor if a TVI, or tactical vehicle intervention, is approved. The supervisor responded, “It’s approved.”
Pursuing officers reported speeds of 120 miles per hour near 67th Street with “medium traffic,” and the suspect SUV briefly drove on the inside shoulder to pass other vehicles.
Two Kansas Highway Patrol Troopers joined the pursuit at 7:48 a.m. as the chase went through the Interstate 635 interchange.
Pursuing officers continued reporting speeds of 110 to 120 miles per hour.
One of the troopers told other officers over the radio, “We’re not going to TVI at 120.”
At 7:50, the Lenexa officer giving pursuit updates said, “We’re coming up on 7th Street Trafficway, speeds are 110, light traffic, traffic yielding.”
Thirty seconds later, a different Lenexa officer is heard saying he has located the stolen SUV, now crashed into a guard rail, on the Lamar Avenue bridge over Interstate 35.
No one was inside the SUV when officers approached it.
Shots fired inside a Mission QuikTrip
Officers requested a K-9 be called in from off-duty and other agencies to respond and assist with a perimeter in the area.
At 7:55, a Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper said that a passer-by informed him that two people ran inside the QuikTrip, 4700 Lamar Ave.
A minute later, a Lenexa officer said, “I think we have them in the QuikTrip bathroom. One of them is standing on the toilet.”
That’s followed by officers reporting that the woman suspect was in custody and officers were giving the male suspect commands to surrender.
At 7:57, a Lenexa officer is heard saying, “We have plenty of units at QuikTrip; everybody else can downgrade.”
Twenty-one seconds later, just before 7:58 a.m., a Lenexa officer can be heard yelling, “Shots fired, shots fired,” with the sounds of gunfire in the background.
The same officer then reported, “Officer down.”
A trooper repeated that there was an officer down and told dispatchers to send an ambulance.
At 7:58, the Trooper asked, “Does anybody have a shield? We need a shield. Suspect is not down.”
Two minutes later, Lenexa officers reported that the injured officer had been moved outside the QuikTrip.
‘Suspect down in the bathroom’
That was followed by a Lenexa officer saying they needed someone to bring a Bearcat armored vehicle and begin “paging out the tac [tactical] team.”
A Lenexa dispatcher replied that an officer was on the way with the Bearcat.
At 8:08, a Lenexa officer reported that she saw movement inside the bathroom, and officers continued to give the male suspect commands to surrender.
A minute later, a different Lenexa officer reported that the “suspect is down in the bathroom.”
From the audio recordings, it remains unclear if there was a second exchange of gunfire between the suspect and officers.
Mike Frizzell is a freelance crime and fire reporter who runs Operation 100 News.
Kyle Palmer contributed to this report.
