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

Troop E Headquarters - 4947 Highway 67 North - Poplar Bluff, MO 63901


News Release

For further information please contact: Sergeant Clark D. Parrott
(573) 840-9500, ext. 3532
E-11
April 30, 2016

EMPHASIS: Trooper-Involved Shooting

On Friday, April 29, 2016, at approximately 6:25 p.m., a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper initiated a traffic stop on Missouri 177, four miles east of Fruitland, Missouri. A preliminary investigation has revealed the following:

The suspect vehicle first swerved from side to side. The suspect vehicle then pulled into a private drive north of Missouri 177. The trooper made contact with the driver, the only occupant of the vehicle, who got out of the car and was acting in a suspicious manner. The trooper began to handcuff the driver for his safety. After placing one handcuff on one wrist, the driver began to fight the trooper. During the fight, the driver struck the trooper multiple times with the loose handcuff. The driver was able to drag the trooper back to his vehicle. Once inside the vehicle, he drove off continuing to drag the trooper alongside the car. The trooper was able to reach into the car and turn off the ignition. The driver then restarted the car and continued dragging the trooper. The trooper verbally warned the driver if he didn't stop he would shoot him. The driver ignored his commands and the trooper fired two rounds from his duty weapon, striking the driver and fatally wounding him. The trooper and other arriving officers secured the other handcuff and attempted to render first aid to the driver.
The trooper sustained lacerations and abrasions to his face and has other non-life threatening injuries.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug Crime Control, continues to investigate this incident.

An autopsy was conducted on April 30, 2016, at 9:30 a.m., in Farmington, Missouri.

The driver has been identified as Jeffrey Darrell Hobbs, date of birth, April 14, 1968, of Jackson, Missouri.