On the evening of August 7, 2022, 31-year-old Zachary James Garrard was shot and killed in an officer-involved shooting at a gas station near 55th Street and Prospect Avenue on Kansas City’s East Side. Officers had responded to investigate an unoccupied SUV reported stolen that was parked in the lot. While two uniformed officers waited by the vehicle, Garrard left the convenience store and got into the driver’s seat.

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Garrard attempted to flee, first putting the SUV in reverse and then shifting into drive and accelerating. Investigators say the vehicle was driven toward an officer, who dove out of its path, and then struck a patrol van. After the collision, officers fired their service weapons, striking Garrard. He was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead shortly after arrival. The Division of Drug and Crime Control led the subsequent investigation and reviewed surveillance and body-worn camera footage. No other suspects were sought.

Did anyone in the area witness the sequence at the pump or see Garrard enter the lot before officers arrived?