Four officers on administrative leave following shooting
Originally published 12:44 p.m., March 19, 2008
Updated 06:29 p.m., March 19, 2008
Four Topeka police officers are on administrative leave in the wake of a shooting that left two brothers seriously wounded.
Damien Llamas, who said he's a brother of the wounded men, says the 27-year-old who was shot is undergoing surgery today. His 18-year-old brother is also in the hospital recovering from life-threatening injuries.
The shooting happened around 3 a.m. Tuesday near Southwest 25th Street and Southwest Stutley Road, just west of Cypress Ridge Golf Course.
Police have said that on-duty officers were dispatched twice early Tuesday to 7418 SW 25th Street, to respond to complaints of loud music. An apparent St. Patrick’s Day party was being held at the home.
About an hour later, police received a call about a shooting at the home.
Several off-duty officers were involved in the incident, police said. Neighbors said several officers live in the area.
According to published reports, a witness said four officers came from a home down the street and ordered them to be quiet, which led to an argument and then the shooting.
Ran Zhang, who lives next door to the home, said he heard a woman yelling at someone about loud music. Shortly after, he heard gun shots.
“Bang, bang, bang,” said Zhang, 18. “The woman said, ‘My goodness, oh somebody got shot.’”
Friends of the wounded men aren’t happy. They believe the off-duty officers acted inappropriately.
“I think that there was definitely something wrong going on,” said Shannen Rodriguez. “They were probably doing a little partying of their own.”
Investigators are keeping tightlipped about why the officers were at the house. Police Chief Ron Miller said it’s at the heart of the investigation.
He said it’s too soon to say whether the officers acted inappropriately. The Topeka Police Department will conduct an internal administrative review to determine if they violated policy.
“Bad things happen sometimes,” said Miller. “What we need to do, is be able to investigate what actually occurred, what actually were the facts, how bad was it or was it not.”
The Shawnee County Sheriff's Office is conducting a criminal investigation, and predicts the probe will take weeks.
“There are different accounts of what happened between witnesses and those involved,” said Sgt. Danny Lotridge, spokesman.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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