Officer Fatally Shot In Missouri Was Sent To Wrong Address

CLINTON, MO — The Clinton police officers who were shot while responding to a 911 call, one of them fatally, were sent to the wrong address and authorities say the initial call came from an address about 20 miles away.

Police responded to a home in Clinton Monday just after 9:20 p.m. after a 911 call in which the line was left open but two women could be heard screaming in the background. In a news release, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said that when officers arrived at the home, a woman said there was no problem at the home and no one else was inside the home.

Officers confirmed the address with dispatch before entering the home where they were met with gunfire. Authorities told The Kansas City Star that the officers entered the home because they are required to make sure that everyone is safe, explaining why officers entered the home.

After investigating, the patrol found that the original 911 call came from a home in Windsor, which is about 20 miles northeast of Clinton.

Officer Christopher Ryan Morton, 30, was fatally shot while trying to apprehend the suspect. The other two officers were treated at a hospital.

According to The Kansas City Star, the suspect, identified as James E. Waters, 37, of Clinton, barricaded himself inside the home after the shooting and exchanged gunfire with at least 50 officers who responded to the scene. The Star reports that officers pleaded with Waters to let them into the home to rescue Morton, who was in a back room in the house. Police had been to the home earlier in the day to try to contact Waters as part of a rape investigation, the Star reported.

A SWAT team recovered Officer Morton from the home at 12:10 a.m., the patrol said. The suspect was found deceased from a gunshot wound in the bathroom. Authorities did not say whether he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound or was killed by officers.

The woman who officers met at the home in Clinton was identified as Tammy Widger. She was charged with possession of the drug with the intent to distribute and with keeping or maintaining a public nuisance, the Star reported.

Autopsies are pending and the investigation is ongoing. The two injured officers are expected to recover.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Photo of Officer Christopher Ryan Morton via Missouri State Highway Patrol