Ellis County Attorney’s Office

On Thursday at approximately 2:33 p.m., a Hays Police Department officer stopped a vehicle for a traffic infraction in the 2700 block of Plaza Avenue in Hays.

The driver of the vehicle was not obeying the commands of the police officer, according to a news release from the office of Ellis County Attorney Tom Drees, and the officer requested additional officers to respond. As an additional officer responded, the stopped vehicle quickly accelerated and police vehicles pursued the vehicle for several minutes.

The vehicle was stopped in the 2300 block of Timber Drive in Hays, when the driver got out of the vehicle. An HPD officer gave verbal commands to the driver, which were not followed, Drees’ office reported. The incident escalated until, at approximately 2:41 p.m., one shot was fired by a Hays police officer, striking the driver. The driver, a 36-year-old white male, died from the gunshot wound.

Hays Police Chief Don Scheibler, following written Hays Police Department procedures, immediately deferred the shooting investigation to the Ellis County Sheriff’s Office and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. Scheibler further requested a public statement of the essential facts be released as soon as practical, consistent with the needs of the KBI and the Ellis County Coroner to conduct their investigation.

Scheibler said a full and impartial investigation of the shooting will take place.

The name of the deceased is being withheld pending notification of his family. The names of the officers involved are being withheld pursuant to the investigation. The shooting is under investigation by the Ellis County Coroner Dr. Lyle Noordhoek, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and the Ellis County Sheriff’s Office.