By Bart Jansen, USA TODAY
One police officer was killed in Massachusetts and three others were wounded in Missouri in separate shootings Sunday.
The incidents come as tensions soared in Chicago over a police-involved shooting.
The suspect in Kansas City had barricaded himself inside a house Sunday afternoon, police said.
Two officers were shot earlier while working undercover at a motel, said Sgt. Jacob Becchina, a police spokesman.
The officers were in stable condition Sunday and were expected to live.
(The Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office and Weymouth Police held a press conference to announce that Michael Chesna was shot and killed Sunday morning. Investigators believe the suspect hit the Weymouth police officer with a rock, took his gun and shot him multiple times. Courtesy of WCVB Channel 5 Boston and YouTube. Posted on Jul 15, 2018.)
The suspect fled in a vehicle with another person, who was arrested when officers found the vehicle, police said.
A third officer was shot while searching for the suspect, according to The Kansas City Star. That officer’s condition wasn’t immediately available.
The suspect was later killed in an exchange of gunfire as he emerged from the home, Police Chief Rick Smith told reporters.
The suspect had been under surveillance as a person of interest in the death of a University of Missouri-Kansas City student Sharath Koppu, who was fatally shot July 6 during a restaurant robbery, according to the Star.
“We have been looking for him all week and this is the first time we laid eyes on him,” Smith said.
In Massachusetts, a Weymouth police officer and a bystander were killed Sunday after a suspect allegedly took the officer’s gun after a vehicle crash and a foot chase, authorities said.
(What started as a call for an erratic driver turned deadly and resulted in the death of a police officer. Courtesy of WCVB Channel 5 Boston and YouTube. Posted on Jul 15, 2018.)
The officer, Michael Chesna, 42, was shot multiple times in the head and chest by his own gun and died from the injuries at South Shore hospital, authorities said.
Chesna was a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who was married with children ages 4 and 9.
“I hired Mike Chesna six years ago” Monday, Weymouth Police Chief Richard Grimes said.
The suspect, Emmanuel Lopes, was hospitalized at South Shore hospital with a leg wound suffered when he was arrested.
He will be arraigned Monday on two counts of homicide at either his hospital bed or in court, police said.
The suspect allegedly crashed a car, fled the scene and attacked Chesna with a stone to the head, police said.
The suspect then allegedly took the officer’s gun and shot him repeatedly, police said.
The other victim was an unidentified elderly woman who was hit by stray bullets in a nearby home, authorities said.
(Emanuel Lopes is expected to be arraigned on two counts of homicide. Courtesy of WCVB Channel 5 Boston and YouTube. Posted on Jul 18, 2018.)
In Chicago, protests erupted Saturday and were expected to continue Sunday after officers on foot tried to question a man “exhibiting characteristics of an armed person,” in this case a bulge in his waistband, police said.
Surveillance video later confirmed the presence of a gun, police said.
The man pushed the officers away and was shot when he appeared to reach for his weapon as he fled, according to Fred Waller, chief of the department’s patrol division.
(Footage from body cameras and surveillance cameras shows that a man who was shot and killed by a Chicago police officer was armed with what appears to be a handgun, police said. The shooting sparked a clash between angry residents and baton-wielding officers. Courtesy of CBS News and YouTube. Posted on Jul 15, 2018.)
An autopsy was pending Sunday for the man identified as Harith Augustus, 37, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Officers found a semiautomatic gun and two magazines of bullets at the site, police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said.
Our law enforcement officers face dangers every single day. We are grateful for the risks they face to keep us all safe. Our thoughts and prayers are with the members of the @kcpolice department and their families. https://t.co/7opsNOuXmu
— Governor Mike Parson (@GovParsonMO) July 15, 2018
In the angry protests that followed, officers were struck by rocks and bottles, and several protesters were arrested. Some officers were injured and two squad cars were damaged, Waller said.
Contributing: Aamer Madhani, The Associated Press
Original post https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/07/15/4-police-officers-shot-sunday/786667002/
Editor’s note: Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Officer Chesna, both blood and blue. Thank you officer for your brave service to our nation, and serving the citizens of Weymouth with pride and distinction. You will not be forgotten.
