Man shot by Independence police during armed encounter facing two felonies: Prosecutors

An Independence man shot and wounded by police early Thursday has been charged with two felonies alleging he threateningly displayed a gun and fired a bullet that struck the gun belt of an officer, who was uninjured.

Ryland E. Polson, 30, was charged Thursday in Jackson County Circuit Court with first-degree assault or attempted murder of a special victim and unlawfully exhibiting a firearm. Polson remained hospitalized with a gunshot wound as of Thursday, and the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office has requested he be held without bond as he faces criminal charges.

The shooting unfolded around 1 a.m. Thursday outside of a BP gas station near the corner of 23rd Street and Chrysler Avenue. Police have said an officer out on patrol came upon a disturbance before encountering Polson, who was armed with a handgun.

According to charging documents filed Thursday, the officer witnessed a possible disturbance involving multiple people at the gas station when he parked across the street around 1:05 a.m. He then radioed to dispatch that he was addressing a disturbance call and drove toward a group there.

A patrol dashboard camera reviewed by Independence police investigators recorded a man with a dark-colored hooded sweatshirt walking away from the disturbance to the west side of the building. He refused commands to stop walking, authorities allege, and as the officer drove farther to stop him a woman was heard telling him that “he just pointed a gun” at her.

The officer confronted Polson after exiting the patrol car and ordered him to show hands, according to the footage and witnesses interviewed by police. After being ordered to the ground, Polson allegedly shot the officer, who returned fire.

Court documents say both men fell to the ground as Polson retained his gun and pointed it at his own head and began to cry. Police and bystanders told him to drop the gun, an event authorities say was recorded on video, for a few minutes before Polson complied.

The officer then provided medical aid to Polson until EMS arrived to transport him to the hospital, according to court documents. Authorities allege Polson was carrying a Smith & Wesson 9mm pistol.

It was later learned that the officer involved had been shot, but the bullet was stopped by the officer’s gun belt, according to court documents. Parts of the belt were scuffed and bullet fragments were found inside a case for the officer’s handcuffs.

“It was only discovered after he went to remove his belt,” an Independence detective wrote in a probable cause statement in support of criminal charges against Polson.

Details of the initial disturbance involving Polson were provided by witnesses to the shooting, including Polson’s girlfriend of about two months and a man she was with at the gas station.

Witnesses said Polson and his girlfriend had been arguing that night and that at one point she told him she was going to the gas station, where she and another friend had gotten a ride. When Polson arrived there, authorities allege, he began to accuse her of sleeping with another man and then displayed his gun.

After the officer arrived, witnesses also described seeing Polson brandish a firearm in his direction before a shot was heard. At least one reported being absolutely certain that Polson shot first, according to court documents.

Meanwhile, the use of force by the Independence officer is being reviewed by a newly formed team of area law enforcement agencies called the Eastern Jackson County Police Involved Incident Team.

The team, mirrored after one in Johnson County, is designed to review cases where police officers use deadly force in the line of duty. It is composed of investigators from the Lee’s Summit, Independence, Grandview and Blue Springs police departments.