93.9 The Eagle – The News and Talk of Columbia, MO
(AP) The St. Louis prosecutor is raising concerns about whether police tried to block drug and alcohol testing of two on-duty officers following the fatal shooting of Officer Katlyn Alix.
Alix (pictured) was off-duty and with two on-duty male officers at an apartment early Thursday. Charging documents say Officer Nathaniel Hendren and Alix were taking turns pulling the trigger of a gun loaded with one bullet while pointing it at each other when Alix was shot in the chest. Hendren is charged with involuntary manslaughter.
In a letter to Police Chief John Hayden and Public Safety Director Jimmie Edwards written Monday but first obtained by KMOV-TV on Tuesday, Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner says urine and breath tests were performed on the male officers, but not a blood test. She wrote that the way the testing was performed “appears to be an obstructionist tactic.”
Gardner’s letter says there was “probable cause at the scene that drugs or alcohol may be a contributing factor in a potential crime.”
Police did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
