Officer justified in shooting man, special prosecutor says

Ryan Dooley
Ryan Dooley

A Boone County special prosecutor has concluded the officer who shot an ax wielding suspect in March 2016 was legally justified in doing so.

Ryan Dooley, then 21 and living in Fulton, suffered from a non-fatal shot on March 24, 2016, while advancing toward Callaway County Sheriff's Department deputies, holding an ax. The deputies were responding to reports of a domestic dispute involving Dooley.

On Monday, Dooley pleaded guilty to two counts of domestic assault in the second degree and one count of assault of a law enforcement officer in the second degree at the Circuit Court of Callaway County, Division 2. He was sentenced to seven years in prison. Dooley also pleaded guilty to unrelated charges of burglary in the first degree and stealing a firearm and was sentenced to an additional 12 years in prison.

"If these findings had been released sooner, it could have impacted his ability to have a fair trial," said Daniel Knight, the special prosecutor who investigated the shooting.

Knight's job was to evaluate the investigative materials of the case and decide whether the officers involved should have criminal charges brought against them. He held back on releasing the results of his investigation to the public until after the guilty plea in compliance with Missouri Supreme Court Rules 4-3.6 and 4-3.8, Knight added.

Avoiding conflicts of interest

In June 2016, Callaway County Prosecuting Attorney Chris Wilson explained the decision to let a special prosecutor handle the investigation.

"As a prosecutor, you want people to have faith in the system," Wilson said at the time. "It's one thing to know you can be fair and impartial; it's another thing for me to believe that the community has faith that the office is fair and impartial."

As the case occurred in Callaway County and involved Callaway County Sheriff's deputies, the decision was made to assign it to a special prosecutor outside the county.

A tense standoff

During his investigation, Knight took a close look at the situation that ended with Dooley facing four unnamed armed deputies and saying, "Put it in my face."

In his 13-page report, Knight sets out a narrative based on written officer reports and body camera footage. The following information is drawn from that report:

The officers involved were identified as Officer A (who shot Dooley), B, C and D. Dooley's victims were also unnamed.

On March 23, Dooley - who was on probation for felony second-degree assault - and his wife got into an argument, Knight reported. Later that same night, Dooley found his wife (Victim 1) with another person identified as Victim 3, and Dooley allegedly struck Victim 3 several times. Law enforcement were called, but Dooley evaded their grasp.

On March 24, Dooley and his wife were at their house when another argument broke out.

"According to Victim 1, Dooley voluntarily ingested eight klonopin pills and then he 'started acting crazy,'" Knight stated.

(Klonopin is classed as a benzodiazepine, a type of sedative that can give an addictive, euphoric high, according to drugabuse.com.)

Victim 1 said Dooley punched, kicked and choked her. A male (Victim 4) at the residence tried to intervene; he was hit and ultimately fled. Victim 4 met with a female, Victim 2. She and another person arrived at Dooley's residence, and Victim 2 tried to persuade him to let Victim 1 leave.

Dooley threatened the two with a knife, and threw a knife that cut Victim 1's foot, Knight stated. Victim 2 called 911.

"Dooley can be heard in the background saying, 'Let me talk to the (expletive) cops. When they come out here (expletive) are getting stabbed,'" Knight reported.

Her intervention allowed Victim 1 to escape, but Knight said Dooley caught her and punched her. She, too, escaped.

Knight listed the property damage Dooley caused during his "tirade," including dislodging a door from its frame, sticking scissors into a wall and striking "various objects" with a sledgehammer.

Officers D, B, A and C were dispatched to the scene, with officers D and B arriving first. B and D saw Dooley was holding an ax, so they drew their handguns and asked him to drop it. Dooley held onto it until he was shot, Knight said.

Shortly afterwards, Officers A and C arrived, with Officer C wearing a body camera.

During the ensuing standoff, officers alternately followed and retreated from Dooley as he walked around the property, repeatedly warning him to put down his ax. Knight reported Dooley taunted the officers, saying things such as, "I'm telling you, if anyone gets closer to me I'm ready to die and I'll kill one of you all," "I'm high as (expletive) on meth, woo," and "Pull the trigger."

The scene ended in the back yard, where Dooley approached the four officers, who were standing in a semi-circle with their weapons pointed at Dooley. Dooley held the axe handle just below its head, with the ax head pointed down, Knight stated.

Dooley headed toward Officer A, who was on the far right.

"Put it in my face," Knight reported Dooley said.

An officer ordered him to drop the ax one last time. Dooley continued to approach. Officer A shot him once, near the eye.

Knight stated the officers immediately rendered first aid. According to previous reports, Dooley was later brought to a hospital and treated.

"Officer A was in obvious emotional distress and was taken to a patrol car," Knight said. "(He) cooperated with the investigation."

Force justified

Knight ultimately concluded Officer A "had a reasonable belief that deadly force was necessary for Officer A to protect himself or Officers B, C and D or Victims 1 and 2 from Dooley."

Under Missouri law, he said, a person is justified in using force to defend against another person if he has reasonable belief the force is necessary, including deadly force when threatened with death, serious injury or forcible felony. In cases involving a police officer attempting to make an arrest, a police officer "is entitle to utilize the laws of self-defense or defense of others even if he or she is the initial aggressor."

Missouri Law also permitted deadly force in making an arrest under certain circumstances, including in self-defense or defense of others, Knight said.

"Officer A is not guilty of a crime, so he will not be prosecuted," Knight said.

Sheriff Clay Chism said the investigation's results are consistent with the department's own investigation.

"We believed from the onset that our deputy was justified in all his actions," Chism said. "However, in respect of all fairness for those involved, we thought it important to have an independent investigation."

He also lauded the thoroughness of the Missouri Highway Patrol, which also investigated the incident. Dennis Crane was the sheriff at the time of the shooting, while Chism was a lieutenant with the department.