Sheriff's office identifies woman shot, killed by deputy after chase in SE Wichita
The person involved in the police pursuit and subsequent officer involved shooting on December 30, 2019, was identified as Debra D. Arbuckle, a 51 year old white female, from Andover, Kansas. Arbuckle was pronounced deceased at the scene.
It is unfortunate anytime someone is injured or killed in a use of force event. The Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office extends sympathy to the members of Arbuckle’s family.
Arbuckle had 3 active felony arrest warrants in Sedgwick County at the time of the pursuit. The warrants were issued for failing to appear in court on criminal charges of Possession of Opiates, Possession of Marijuana, Drug Paraphernalia, Criminal Possession of a Weapon by a Felon, and traffic charges. Arbuckle has been arrested 38 times. 35 times in Sedgwick County, Kansas, 2 times in Newton, Kansas, and once in Texas.
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The Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office says a sheriff's deputy fatally shot a woman after she tried run into deputies with a car. This followed a chase that ended in southeast Wichita.
The sheriff's office says the series of events leading to the shooting started early Monday morning when a deputy spotted a car that was involved in a previous chase with Wichita police officers.
In a pursuit, deputies followed the car into Butler County and back into Sedgwick County where deputies maneuvered to stop the car in the area of Mount Vernon and South Webb Road. Shots were fired when the woman attempted to hit deputies with the car, the sheriff's office says.
Responding officers closed South Webb Road between Pawnee and Harry for several hours as investigators worked to piece together what led up to the shooting.
The sheriff's office says the chase involving the approximately 50-year-old woman and the deputies, lasted about 19 minutes.
"During the pursuit, tire deflation devices were deployed on two occasions," the sheriff's office says. "Both deployments were successful, but the driver refused to stop. The Tactical Vehicle Intervention (TVI) technique was attempted three times during the pursuit. The second time the TVI procedure was used, it was successful, but the driver managed to regain control of the vehicle and continue driving. The pursuit ended after the third TVI method was used, at approximately 3:43 a.m."
With the car stopped, a deputy gave several commands for the woman to turn off the vehicle, the sheriff's office says. She didn't comply and placed the car in reverse, accelerating toward deputies.
"Fearing for his life and life of the other deputies, a deputy fired several rounds striking the suspect.," the sheriff's office says.
The woman died at the scene.
"Events of this nature escalate quickly," the sheriff's office says."From the time the deputy got out of his car to the time the shots were fired was less than a minute."
The KBI, Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office, and the Professional Standards Unit of the Sheriff’s Office were all notified.
The KBI is assisting with the case, the sheriff's office says.
It says there are multiple body camera videos to review and multiple patrol vehicle videos to review.
None of the deputies involved in the chase were injured, the sheriff's office says. It says the deputy who fired the shots is 26 years old and has been a deputy with the sheriff’s office for almost six years.
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A driver is dead after a police pursuit early Monday morning. According to a Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office spokesperson, deputies were involved in a pursuit in the area of S. Webb Road. At one point, shots were fired, and the driver of the car they were chasing is now deceased.
The spokesperson says it is early in the investigation and she could not confirm who fired the shots.
We do know that S. Webb Road is now closed between Pawnee and Harry.
Eyewitness News expects an update from the Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office at a briefing set for 3:30 p.m.
