Benton police Wednesday declined to release the name of an officer who shot and killed a 49-year-old man earlier this month, citing safety concerns regarding retaliation threats made against the officer, according to the city's police chief.
Thomas Jeffery Burns was shot by a Benton police officer on Oct. 7 after Burns "threatened the officer with a handgun," according to a release from the department.
Burns died on Oct. 10, police said.
After the shooting, Benton Police Chief Kirk Lane said he was informed that a relative of Burns was making threatening remarks against the officer who shot Burns.
Lane invited the relative and other members of Burns' family to a sit-down meeting last week to discuss the shooting investigation, he said.
At the meeting, Lane said, the relative, who he said has a criminal record and a history of substance abuse, made multiple threats of retaliation against the officer and was ordered to leave the meeting several times. Lane also said the family member demanded the officer's name and home address.
Lane said he could have arrested the family member but decided against it.
"I felt that arresting him at that point would add more fuel to the fire," he said.
Lane said he does not plan on releasing the identity of the officer until there is not a clear and present threat against the officer, or a judge orders him to do so.
"I have a duty to protect that officer and his family," he said.
City Attorney Brent Houston did not provide specific details about the threats of retaliation but said they included some form of bodily harm against the officer.
"We take this very seriously because someone has died and emotions run high," he said.
Withholding the officer's identity because of concerns for their personal safety pertains only to this shooting by an officer, he said. The department intends to identify an officer involved in a separate Benton police shooting that killed a 17-year-old on Monday. He said that officer's identity will be released once the investigation has been completed.
In the lead-up to the Oct. 7 shooting, police were called about 10:25 p.m. to the 1400 block of Longview Drive for a report of "unknown trouble," according to a release.
The officer spoke with Burns and an unidentified female, who were arguing, and then stayed in the area to provide an extra patrol, the release said.
A little over 30 minutes later, the officer encountered Burns holding a gun and ordered him to drop the weapon, police said. Police said Burns did not comply with the commands and reportedly raised the gun toward the officer.
The officer fired, hitting Burns, a release said.
The Oct. 7 shooting is still under investigation, and Lane said the department is waiting to receive some information from the state Crime Laboratory.
He said the investigation should be forwarded to the Saline County prosecuting attorney's office sometime next week, and the office will review the evidence. The officer in the shooting is on administrative leave, he said.
Metro on 10/20/2016