KINLOCH POLICE OFFICER SAYS HE ACCIDENTALLY SHOT MOTORIST

A Kinloch police officer said he accidentally shot a motorist during a
traffic stop early Saturday then chased the man for 25 miles into Maryland
Heights.

The officer, Walter Wilson, the former police chief in Kinloch, said he
stopped the man about 3:40 a.m. at Martin Luther King Boulevard and
Suburban Avenue in Kinloch.

He suspected the motorist, a 24-year-old man from Bridgeton, was involved
with a drug transaction, Wilson said.

Wilson says he reached through the car window to grab the man's keys in the
ignition, and his drawn gun accidentally fired. The shot hit the man in the
shoulder.

The motorist sped away, knocking Wilson to the ground. Wilson jumped into
his patrol car and gave chase.

Officers from several departments joined the chase, which ended at a
cul-de-sac on Galaxy Place in Maryland Heights. Wilson and other police
officers blocked the suspect with their cars. Wilson fired several more
shots at the motorist, St. Louis County police said.

Police did not find any drugs on the suspect, Wilson said. The suspect was
unarmed.

The man was arrested and taken to St. John's Mercy Medical Center, where he
was in stable condition. Police did not release his name.

After St. Louis County police finish an investigation, prosecutors will
decide on charges.

Kinloch Police Chief Linda Witfield said Wilson had been placed on
administrative leave.

Witfield, the former police chief in Wellston, replaced Wilson as chief
after he was removed July 19. Wilson works as a detective sergeant at the
Kinloch police department.

Mayor Keith Conway has refused to discuss the reason for the change.

The change came soon after Kinloch business owner Mike Singleton accused
the police department under Wilson's command of failing to prosecute Marc
"Smooth" Collins, a suspect in a drive-by shooting in April.