KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Amber Alerts are the most common mass notification that people are used to seeing.
On Monday, the Kansas City area received a Blue Alert during a manhunt for a suspect who shot a Lee's Summit police officer. The officer is recovering from his injuries in the hospital.
Missouri State Highway Patrol Cpl. Justin Howard said the alert is a quick way to get information out that can help with an investigation.
"The circumstances that surround a Blue Alert coming out aren't ones we expect by any means but ones we take very seriously, and we're thankful it's a system we can use," Howard said.
Howard said Blue Alerts use the same type of emergency alert system as an Amber Alert.
The program was activated in Kansas in 2014, and Missouri started using the system in 2017.
Missouri issued the Blue Alert for Thomas Eugene Tolbert around 9 a.m., and Kansas followed a few hours later.
This was the first time Kansas issued the alert since the program began.
"We're only as effective as our community. There's so many law enforcement officers, but so many more community members," Howard said. "Anyone willing to present serious injury or death to an officer, you don't know what else they are capable or what else they are willing to do to get away from what they're trying to escape from."
The alert went out 10 hours after the shooting.
KSHB 41's Alyssa Jackson asked the Lee's Summit Police Department about the timing.
Sgt. Chris Depue said the department had to identify a suspect, and it takes time to gather information that fits the state's Blue Alert criteria.
Kansas lists its requirements here, and you can find Missouri's criteria here.
Tolbert is charged in Jackson County with first-degree assault, armed criminal action, unlawful possession of a firearm, resisting arrest/detention/stop by fleeing and second-degree domestic assault.
At last check, there were at least 15 tips sent in about Tolbert's whereabouts to the Greater KC Crime Stoppers Program. However, he remained at large as of 8 p.m. Monday.
A reward of up to $10,000 is available for information leading to his arrest. That information must be submitted via the anonymous Greater KC Crime Stoppers TIPS Hotline at 816-474-8477.
If you have any information about Tolbert's whereabouts, call 911 or the TIPS line.
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KSHB 41 reporter Alyssa Jackson covers portions of Johnson County, including Overland Park, Prairie Village and Leawood. Share your story idea with Alyssa.
