Slain Missouri Officer Identified, Killer had Long Criminal History

Officer Morton was fatally shot while trying to apprehend the suspect. Two other officers were wounded in the gunfight. One of the wounded officers remained hospitalized Wednesday with moderate injuries. The other officer's injuries were minor, the patrol said.

Police officers from the Kansas City region are offering their condolences following the news that a 30-year-old Clinton, Mo., police officer was fatally shot and two others were injured while responding to a 911 call late Tuesday night.

Clinton, MO, police officer Christopher Ryan Morton was shot and killed Tuesday night. (Photo: Clinton PD)Clinton, MO, police officer Christopher Ryan Morton was shot and killed Tuesday night. (Photo: Clinton PD)

The deceased officer was identified as Christopher Ryan Morton, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

Morton is the second Clinton police officer shot and killed in the line of duty in seven months, the Kasas City Star reports. Another Clinton officer, Gary Michael, 37, was mortally wounded in a shooting while conducting a traffic stop on Aug. 6.

Officer Morton was fatally shot while trying to apprehend the suspect. Two other officers were wounded in the gunfight. One of the wounded officers remained hospitalized Wednesday with moderate injuries. The other officer's injuries were minor, the patrol said.

A SWAT team entered the home at 12:10 a.m. Wednesday and found the suspect, 37-year-old James Waters, of Clinton, dead. Stosberg said the cause of the suspect's death is under investigation. A woman who was at the home was taken into custody, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Court records show Waters had a history of convictions for drugs and resisting arrest. He served stints in prison from October 2000 through November 2002, May 2003 through April 2008, July 2008 through October 2012 and May 2014 through last July, according to Missouri Department of Corrections spokesman Garry Brix.

Waters was charged in November in Missouri's Cass County with unlawful possession of a firearm and drug possession, court records show. He pleaded not guilty, and the case was pending when he died.

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