[MO] St. Louis Sheriff's Deputy Kern shot and killed by police after his break-up with girlfriend

...St. Louis Police Capt. Michael Sack said [St. Louis Sheriff's Deputy Timothy] Kern was intoxicated and distraught over a breakup earlier in the night with a woman... Kern had been a sheriff's deputy for more than eight years...

ST. LOUIS COP SHOOTS DEAD A DRUNK, OFF-DUTY COP
Reuters
Bruce Olson
Fri Feb 11, 2011
[Excerpts] A St. Louis police officer shot and killed an off-duty sheriff's deputy late Thursday when the deputy, described as intoxicated and agitated, appeared to pull out a gun during an argument, police said Friday. The off-duty deputy for the St. Louis City Sheriff's Department, Timothy Kern, 53, was shot three times after police saw him reach for a gun when approached by police in the residential Carondelet neighborhood, police said. "The officers ordered the man to show his hands but instead of complying, he reached for the gun and turned toward the officers with the gun. One of the officers, in fear for his safety as well as the safety of his partner, fired at the suspect, striking him three times," a police statement said. Police said a witness told them Kern had broken up with his girlfriend earlier in the evening and was drunk at the time he was approached by police. The incident started when police saw Kern and another man blocking the street in a loud argument about 10:25 p.m. local time. Police said Kern was yelling and seemed "very agitated"... [Full article here]

FAMILY SAYS SLAIN ST. LOUIS DEPUTY WAS MURDERED
7:03 PM, Feb 11, 2011
KSDK
By Sharon Stevens
[Excerpts] The family of a St. Louis Sheriff's deputy says he was murdered by a local police officer.
Timothy Kern was shot and killed by a St. Louis police officer late Thursday night after he allegedly reached for a gun. Police responded to the 5700 block of Virginia, located near the intersection of Michigan and Dover... St. Louis police say Kern was agitated and yelling; a second man was trying to calm him down... Kern had been a sheriff's deputy for more than eight years. They believe Kern was upset because of a break-up with a girlfriend... Kern's family says they don't believe the whole story is being told. The officer who shot Kern has been on the force for 16-years and was placed on administrative leave. That's standard procedure. [Full article here]


THE FAMILY OF A ST. LOUIS SHERIFF'S DEPUTY SHOT AND KILLED SAYS IT WANTS ANSWERS
KMOV.com
by Lindsay Bramson
February 11, 2011 at 7:43 PM
Related:
[Excerpts] Police are still trying to sort out what happened before a St. Louis police officer shot and killed an off duty St. Louis City sheriff's deputy late Thursday night. The deputy's family tells News 4 they cant get any information from police. 53-year-old Timothy Kern was shot and killed when police say he pulled out his pistol and pointed it at the officer. There's a lot they still don't know. The family says its because of the holiday police are telling them they have to wait until Monday... "Why do I have to read about what happened to my father online, instead of hearing it from an official," says daughter Tosha Porter. Angry and frustrated, the family of Timothy Kern questions what really happened at the intersection of Dover... She says, "It doesn't make any sense and we'd like more answers"... William Hall, a witness says, "I came to the front door and saw the officer standing over the guy and it looked like he had fired his last shot." Sister Deborah Moyer says her brother didn't deserve to get shot that many times. Jeremiah Kern, his son tells News 4 if there was something going on he would always announce he's a sheriff's deputy. The city police department has a different story though. A spokesperson tells News 4 Kern wasn't in uniform and did not identify himself as a deputy... His sister says, "just please let us know what's going on. We need more answers. He leaves behind 3 children and 8 grandchildren."... [Full article here]


ST. LOUIS OFFICER SHOOTS, KILLS OFF-DUTY SHERIFF'S DEPUTY
KMOV.com
February 11, 2011
[Excerpts] A St. Louis city sheriff’s deputy is dead after being shot by a St. Louis police officer... Police say Kern was very agitated. Authorities say the men were causing traffic problems so the officers got out of their police cruisers to investigate. When officers approached, they saw that Kern had a gun on his waist. They ordered Kern to show his hands, but instead police say he reached for his gun and turned toward the officers. One of the officers fired at Kern... Kern was shot three times. He was taken to a local hospital where he was later pronounced dead... Captain Michael Sack, tells News 4 that Kern was drunk and distraught over a break-up... [Full article here]


ONLINE COMMENT:

The original story stated it "appeared" he was "reaching" toward a gun. The next story stated he was reaching "toward" a gun. The video now states he was "aiming" a gun. Pretty soon the police and the media will have the Deputy popping off three or four rounds at the officer.. We need a civiian commission (disbanned the police boards) with full authority and no "secrecy" clause to investigate and promote criminal charges against the management of the St. Louis and St. Louis County police. This has become ridiculos...

MAN FATALLY SHOT BY ST. LOUIS OFFICER WAS OFF-DUTY SHERIFF'S DEPUTY
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
BY Patrick M. O'Connell and Kim Bell
February 11, 2011
[Excerpts] ...A man fatally shot by police when he appeared to reach for a gun late Thursday in St. Louis' Carondelet neighborhood was an off-duty sheriff's deputy distraught over a breakup, authorities said. A St. Louis police officer shot Timothy Kern three times... Kern, 53, worked as a deputy for the St. Louis sheriff's department for the past nine or 10 years, said his daughter, Tosha Porter of Belleville... Authorities said the incident began when two uniformed St. Louis police officers en route to an unrelated call saw two men standing in the street at the intersection of Dover Street and Michigan Avenue... The men were blocking the street and Kern was yelling and seemed agitated... St. Louis Police Capt. Michael Sack said Kern was intoxicated and distraught over a breakup earlier in the night with a woman. The man Kern was talking with was a friend and the two men were not fighting, Sack said. The second man corroborated police accounts of what happened, he said. Porter, the daughter of Kern, said the family is questioning the official account of what happened. She said her father was likely reaching for his badge, which he kept in his front pocket, to show the officer who he was. Porter said that he wouldn't have been reaching for his gun. "We want answers," Porter said. "I'm not going to let this get dusted under the rug. I think they started firing on him because they saw the gun." Porter wasn't there, but she said she's seen her father in situations where he was pulled over in a traffic stop, for example, and knows what he automatically does next. "He was probably saying, 'I got an ID, I got an ID,'" Porter said. "Everytime he was with me and we were pulled over or whatever, the cop would come up and he'd say, 'I'm a sheriff's deputy' and show his badge... Police have not identified the friend who was with Kern on the street, and Porter said she doesn't know who he might be. She said she would like to speak with him to hear his account. Porter said her father had several duties at the sheriff's department... Before working in St. Louis, he worked at a prison in Wisconsin. Before that, he worked for Boys Town in St. James, Mo., she said. Porter said she knew her father was dating a woman and heard about the breakup Thursday but had never met her... Porter said her father always carryied a weapon whenever he took walks around the neighborhood. He kept it in a waist holster with Velcro loops. Porter had to identify her father's body Friday morning. She said she plans to speak tonight with the homicide supervisor who is heading the investigation into her father's death. She said she wants to know why the officer shot her father. She said the officer who killed her father "left eight grandkids and three adult kids to pick up the pieces of this." St. Louis police haven't publicly identified the officer who shot Kern but said he is 42 years old and a 16-year veteran of the force. The officer will be placed on paid leave, as is standard procedure. William Hall, 41, lives in a home on Michigan Avenue overlooking the intersection where the shooting happened. Hall said he heard the gunfire Thursday night and looked outside. Hall said he heard seven or eight shots but only saw the final shot, when the officer was about six feet away. He saw the man on the ground, lying in a fetal position on his side. The officer then nudged the man with his foot, Hall said. "I saw him put the last shot in him, that's when he was walking up on him," Hall said. "It's kind of sad how they killed him" Hall said the area was not well-lit and the police car didn't have any lights shining on the scene... [Full article here]
[suicide-by-cop police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence (IPV) abuse law enforcement public safety fatality fatalities lethal murder misouri state politics mum saint louis mo alcohol drunk]