Three officers, process server shot during Independence eviction. Two die from wounds

Three Independence police officers and a civil process server were shot, two of them fatally, after gunfire broke out during an eviction at a home in the northeast part of the city Thursday afternoon, officials said.

Officials confirmed Independence police officer Cody Allen and Jackson County Circuit Court civil process server Drexel Mack were killed.

The two other officers who “took gunshot rounds” are expected to make a full recovery, according to Independence Police Chief Adam Dustman. One underwent surgery, and the other suffered minor injuries.

A large number of law enforcement officers responded, and a tactical response team had to be called in to extract Allen’s body from the home’s front porch.

Shots fired during eviction

The first gunshots were fired shortly after 1 p.m. in the 1100 block of North Elsea Smith Road, near East Bundschu Road, said Cpl. Justin Ewing, a spokesman with the Missouri State Highway Patrol, which is investigating. Civil process servers called for police saying that an officer with the court had been shot, Ewing said. Simultaneously, a neighbor also called 911 saying that an officer had been shot.

Multiple Independence police officers responded. More gunfire broke out, and police officers were also shot, Ewing said. Officers from multiple agencies responded to assist, including tactical units.

The Kansas City Police Department also responded, said Capt. Jake Becchina, a spokesman for the department. Law enforcement initiated an Operation 100, a tactical response for an armed, barricaded suspect that includes negotiators trained to help de-escalate a situation.

Eventually, a male suspect was taken into custody with minor injuries.

The victims were taken to Centerpoint Medical Center in Independence. About a half dozen police cars were parked outside the main entrance of the hospital after the shootings, and officers and police personnel could be seen hugging each other and crying.

Though one suspect had been taken into custody earlier in the afternoon, the tactical response remained active until around 7:30 p.m., Becchina said in a later email. No one else was found inside the home, and the scene was released to highway patrol investigators.

In a statement released Thursday evening, a spokeswoman for the Jackson County Circuit Court said that Mack, the civil process server who was killed, had been at the home for an eviction.

The circumstances of the eviction and what initially brought the process servers to the residence were not immediately clear Thursday. It was unknown how many civil process servers were on the scene, Ewing said.

Employees for the court’s department of civil process perform the same duties as a sheriff’s civil division in other Missouri counties, the court’s website says. Duties include serving court summonses, protection orders and subpoenas and executing other court orders.

‘We now have two officers down’

A call went out about the shooting at about 1:12 p.m., according to audio captured on Broadcastify.com, saying: “Independence, we have units en route. Officers down inside the doorway. Suspect is still inside.”

Then, at 1:15 p.m., came the call: “Independence is requesting assistance. They have an officer down at 1111 N. Elsea Smith Road.”

Another voice said: “This will be on a gunshot wound.”

Two minutes later a voice said: “We now have two officers down.”

Around 1:30 p.m., someone said, “We see the incoming units are telling us to stay in the back, the officers are still stuck at the house getting shot at.”

Then, around 1:40 p.m., someone said: “I’m on foot. … We’re approaching the house and it appears that they’re doing CPR on one of the officers.”

Fort Osage district spokesperson Stephanie Smith said schools were placed on lockdown for 20 to 30 minutes, meaning all exterior doors were locked, but classes continued. Once law enforcement gave the all clear, the district lifted the lockdown and planned a normal dismissal.

Alden Smith, an 18-year-old who lives in the area, described being at a nearby McDonald’s restaurant when about half a dozen police vehicles sped by around 1:30 p.m.

Smith, along with some friends, drove by the shooting scene a few minutes later and saw numerous police vehicles, along with officers who they said appeared to be part of a SWAT unit.

“Some adrenaline is definitely going through,” Smith said.

The Kansas City office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also responded to the scene to assist.

This was the second officer-involved shooting in Independence in a week.

Officers shot and killed 32-year-old Sief Bani-Khalid of Independence while responding to an armed disturbance at about 4:40 p.m. Feb. 22 at a home in the 700 block of North Frandsen Road. Officers were checking out a report that gunshots had been fired.

Officers encountered Bani-Khalid at the front door, and witnesses heard them give commands, police said. Two officers shot and killed Bani-Khalid.

Police said a firearm was allegedly found nearby. He was allegedly wearing a fanny pack containing ammunition.

Thursday’s shooting also comes two weeks after a mass shooting killed one person and injured 24 others at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl victory rally at Union Station on Feb. 14.

On Thursday, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter: “My heart breaks for the Independence Police Department and all the family and friends of their officer who succumbed to injuries from a shooting earlier today.”

He added that he was praying for all others impacted and all of the women and men of law enforcement in the Kansas City area.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson said his office was continuing to receive updates on the shooting. He said the Missouri State Highway Patrol was assisting.

“Teresa and I are praying for the@IndepMoPolice officers involved and all who work to protect us,” Parson said in a post on X.