Sedgwick County DA: Officer justified in shooting that killed gunman

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett concluded that a Wichita police officer who fatally shot an armed man in 2021 won’t face any charges. Bennett called the decision a cut-and-dry case.

In June of 2021, an officer shot and killed Tyler Hodge after Hodge shot and critically wounded another officer, Kyle Mellard. The call began about 10:30 p.m. June 19, 2021 with two WPD officers conducting a welfare check in the 500 block of West Carlyle Street, in west Wichita. The officers contacted a woman at the home who was crying and reported she’d been in an argument with her boyfriend, identified as Tyler Hodge.

Searching the property, officers entered the backyard and saw a storage shed with its door partially open. In his report, Bennett gave the following account of how the situation escalated.

“One of the officers opened the shed door and illuminated the interior with a flashlight. The officers observed a bearded man in a yellow shirt, later identified as Mr. Hodge, sitting inside. Mr. Hodge was holding a black semi-automatic rifle between his legs, with the butt of the rifle on the floor and the barrel pointing up. Mr. Hodge had both hands on the barrel of the gun. He ignored verbal commands to put the gun down and, instead, stood and raised the rifle. The two officers retreated from the shed. Hodge fired two shots from inside the shed. This interaction was captured on the officers’ body cameras. The two officers did not return fire.”

Following an officer-in-trouble call, Bennett said numerous WPD officers, Sedgwick County Sheriff’s deputies and Kansas Highway Patrol troopers responded to the area. Mellard was one of the first to arrive as Hodge continued to fire shots. Officer Mellard was hit three times.

“[Mellard] was stuck in both legs and in his face and fell, unresponsive in the middle of the street,” Bennett said.

He said Hodge continued to fire toward the street “from various unknown locations.”

Eventually, a responding officer shot and killed Hodge. Bennett discussed how this ended a threat and cited the state’s stand-your-ground law for his decision not to file charges in the case.

Officer Mellard survived the shooting and, after a lengthy road to recovery, returned to patrol late last year.