Video: Topeka Officer Shot, Killed at Traffic Stop
The officer had pulled over a car for a traffic violation when one of its occupants drew a weapon and fired on the officer.
A Topeka, Kan., police officer has been killed in the line of duty after stopping a motor vehicle Sunday afternoon. Immediately after the stop, one of its occupants drew a weapon and fired on the officer. Ross Preston Lane, whom the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office identified as the 30-year-old suspect, was taken into custody Sunday around 8 p.m. in Lawrence, Kan., without incident, having turned himself in.
Authorities have identified the Topeka police officer killed in a fatal shooting Sunday evening as Cpl. Jason E. Harwood. A news release from the sheriff’s office said Harwood was transported to Stormont-Vail Health in critical condition after sustaining a gunshot wound around 4:45 p.m. Sunday. He had pulled over a car near S.E. 6th and Deer Creek Parkway. One of its occupants drew a weapon and fired on the officer.
A news release from city communications and marketing director Suzie Gilbert said Harwood joined the Topeka Police Department on June 28, 1999. He was a member of the hit-and-run unit and K-9 unit. He was promoted to the position of corporal in May 2012. Harwood, 40, is survived by his wife and two sons.
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