OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) - An Overland Park police officer said he shot at 17-year-old John Albers because he thought the teenager was going to hit him with a van, according to an investigative report.
Officer Clayton Jennison said Albers didn’t listen to his commands to stop the van as he was backing out of a driveway at the Albers’ home on Jan. 20, 2018. Albers died after being hit by six of the 13 shots Jennison fired at the vehicle, according to the report from a team that investigates shooting involving officers in Johnson County.
The Johnson County Attorney found the shooting was justified. Jennison later left the department.
Sheila Albers, John’s mother, said her family was relieved the city had finally released the report. But she said it showed the investigation focused on clearing Jennison and largely blamed her son for the confrontation, The Kansas City Star reported.
The city was sued over its initial refusal to release the report. Overland Park officials said they decided to issue the nearly 500-page report this week because controversy over the case was damaging citizens’ trusts in the city and its police department.
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