Officer not charged after firing at suspect
By NewsPress Now
No criminal charges will be filed against a St. Joseph police officer in a Dec. 26 incident during which the man fired his service gun when a suspect pointed a weapon at him.
Buchanan County Prosecuting Attorney Michelle Davidson made the announcement Wednesday involving Officer Justin McElroy. She said the decision was made after a “careful review of all statements, videos and police reports surrounding the incident.”
The investigation found that at about 10 p.m. on Dec. 26, St. Joseph Police Department officers were trying to stop a U-Haul vehicle they believed was involved in multiple thefts. After the driver fled from officers, a woman sitting in the passenger seat called 911. The vehicle eventually became disabled on train tracks near Garfield Avenue and South 16th Street after it drove over police-deployed spike strips.
As the driver got out of the vehicle, McElroy approached and the man pointed a gun at the officer, according to a statement from the prosecutor’s office. McElroy then fired his own gun. No one was injured.
Nicholas Glen Newton, 39, was arrested and later charged with unlawful possession of a firearm. A probable cause statement identified Newton as the driver of the U-Haul and said he had a 45-caliber handgun that was reported stolen on Oct. 30
Newton is scheduled for a preliminary hearing at 9 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 12, in front of Associate Circuit Judge Chad Gaddie. He remains in the Buchanan County Jail without bond.
