Investigation

A Wichita police officer has been suspended after an investigation into a shooting earlier this month.  "The initial investigation revealed some concerns," Chief Norman Williams said. The officer fired shots September 4th in the 2800 block of W. Pawnee.   At the time, the officer said he was working on paperwork in a parking lot when he saw someone looking around the corner of a nearby building, then go away.  Moments later, he said he saw the man reappear from around the building with what appeared to be a rifle and pointed it at him. At that time, the officer got out of his vehicle and proceeded to start firing toward the direction of the individual because he thought the man was going to shoot at him.  No one was injured.

An insurance adjuster has visited what's left of the Winfield park that was destroyed in a massive fire last week. The city manager says it will cost $650,000 to $750,000 to replace the park. The city had insurance on the park, so the city will only have to pay a $2,500 deductible. The city says since insurance is taking care of the damage, any fundraising money will go toward enhancements. As for the investigation, the police chief says his department is following up on leads and interviewing people about what happened.

We have seen a lot of photos in the past few days, but there might be clues in those snapshots that the average person would not notice. Eyewitness News wanted to know why investigators are not releasing more information. "For an investigation to be good, we shouldn't know and we can't know," said former FBI agent Dan Jablonski. Jablonski says giving the public too much information right now could hurt the investigation. After 28 years in the Bureau, he thinks the Boston explosions were an act of revenge.

Dodge City police have cleared the library of a bomb threat.  Thursday morning, the library was evacuated because of a possible suspicious package. Library employees overheard a man talking on a pay phone, who made reference to an explosive device going off in 15 minutes.  Library employees identified the man to police.  They took the 51-year-old in for questioning and evacuated the library. The Kansas Highway Patrol bomb unit assisted with the investigation.  After examining a package, they determined it did not contain anything hazardous.  The man was taken into custody for aggravated criminal threat.

Falls are one of the leading causes of death in the workplace. Now, investigators are looking into the second fatal fall at Spirit AeroSystems in 13 months. This week 26-year-old Matt Lyons fell about 12 feet to his death.  Spirit is not saying what job Lyons was performing when he fell. FactFinder 12 requested the results of the investigation from last year's fatal incident at Spirit last August when Jerry Milligan fell to his death. The investigation found that Milligan was working on a top level platform in plant two and was exposed to a fall hazard of 13 feet.

Test scores at one Wichita school could be too good to be true.  The district is investigating Enterprise Elementary, while the principal is on personal leave. Eyewitness News visited Principal Pam Stead's school just two years ago.  She was celebrating a victory for Enterprise Elementary.  Stead said the school had finally met educational standards after re-vamping its teaching style. “Through all those things we figured out what was wrong and starting correcting it,” Stead said in 2010.

Dustin Tyler Smith, 25 of McPherson, plead no contest and was found guilty of First Degree Murder (felony murder) Monday. The case has been scheduled for a preliminary hearing this morning but Smith waived right to the hearing before entering the plea. McPherson County Attorney David Paige said the family of the victim approved of the resolution of the case and were pleased with the presumptive penalty of life in prison for Smith. Smith is scheduled to be sentenced on May 7 th at 1 p.m. ---------- June 1st, 2011 The McPherson County Attorney's Office has charged Dustin Tyler Smith, 24, of McPherson, in the death of Justin Milne.

A former Solomon teacher accused of having a sexual relationship with high school students is now in police custody. Amber Stroda, 28, turned herself in to authorities Wednesday morning, one day after a warrant was issued for her arrest. She is charged with three counts of feloniously engaging in consensual intercourse and three counts of feloniously engaging in sexual sodomy. The two alleged victims are Solomon high school students. Jim Runge, USD 393 superintendent, said Stroda was a third grade teacher and a high school dance sponsor.

After a FactFinder 12 investigation and two state investigations, a Wichita funeral home owner is disciplined for unethical business practices.  The Kansas State Board of Mortuary Arts ordered Doug Watson, owner of Watson Funeral Home, to refund a family $967.32 for overcharging for a funeral service.  The order also requires Watson to pay a $500 fine, attend ten hours of approved continuing education in the area of...

State fire investigators say a fire at a mobile home in central Kansas is suspicious. Fire crews were called to the mobile home in the Barton County town of Pawnee Rock Monday. When they arrived, they found the mobile home fully engulfed in flames. Firefighters from Pawnee Rock and Great Bend were able to get the fire under control. Investigators say there were no utilities hooked up to the home. No one was hurt. The Kansas Fire Marshal's office is assisting with the investigation.