KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A man shot by a Kansas City, Missouri, police officer Thursday night was unarmed, a police investigation revealed.
Donnie Sanders, 47, died Friday from his injuries.
Kansas City police said he was shot after fleeing from officers during an attempted traffic stop.
According to KCPD, the officer tried to stop Sanders' vehicle near 51st Street and Prospect Avenue around 11:15 p.m. Thursday.
Sanders did not pull over until he pulled in an alley near Prospect and Wabash avenues, where he ran from the vehicle.
Police said Sanders turned toward the officer and "advanced on him while raising his arm up in a motion towards the officer as though he had a weapon" and that's when the officer gave commands to drop the weapon.
The officer fired his gun when police said his commands were ignored.
Later Friday, KCPD said its investigators found that Sanders was unarmed at the time of the shooting.
The officer will be on leave from duty while the death investigation takes place, which is protocol.
KCPD said they have assigned an officer and social worker to liaison with Sanders' family and keep them notified through the investigation.
Police requested anyone who saw or heard anything near the scene to call the Homicide Unit at 816-234-5043.
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