MISSOURI STATE HIGHWAY PATROL
a division of the
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY

Troop A, 504 SE Blue Parkway, Lee's Summit, MO 64063


NEWS RELEASE

For further information please contact: Sgt. Collin Stosberg
(816) 622-0800 ext. 259
A2010-74
November 17, 2010

EMPHASIS: Officer Involved Shooting In Henry County


On November 16, 2010, at approximately 9:58 p.m., the Highway Patrol was requested to assist with a pursuit involving officers in Johnson County, Missouri. The vehicle was being pursued for a suspected burglary in progress. Officers pursued the vehicle on numerous county roads and on Missouri Highway 131 in Johnson County before the pursuit traveled into Henry County, Missouri. A Missouri state trooper was behind the vehicle when it became disabled on 1000 Road near 1500 Road, northeast of Creighton, Missouri. The suspect, who was later identified as Rick A. Gregory, 23, of Calhoun, Missouri, opened the driver’s side door and fired at the trooper, and struck the patrol car’s windshield. The trooper returned fire from within his patrol vehicle before exiting his patrol car and seeking cover. Gregory remained inside his vehicle and would not comply with orders to exit the vehicle. The Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop A SWAT team was notified and responded to the scene. Attempts to negotiate with Gregory by the Highway Patrol’s negotiator were unsuccessful. As the SWAT team’s armored vehicle approached the vehicle, Gregory was fatally injured from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The autopsy of Gregory is scheduled this afternoon. Members of the Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control are investigating the shooting incident.