23-05-2025
Douglas Co. Sheriff details Wednesday's officer-involved shooting
DOUGLAS COUNTY, Mo. — Douglas County Sheriff Chris DeGase says he was on vacation last night when he got a call that made him drive from Mississippi overnight, back to Douglas County.
'Last night, about 6:00, deputies went to a residence on BB Highway, which is in the northwestern part of Douglas County. The female that lived there, she had multiple felony arrest warrants out for her. They went there, they knocked on the door, and she would not come out of the residence. They went into the residence to get her out,' DeGase said.
That's when DeGase says chaos ensued.
'At the moment they went through the door, she fired one round. Initially, the deputies retreated back initially. They opened the door again where she fired another round at deputies in an exchange of gunfire with her. At that point, they retreated to a safe location just outside the front door. They were giving her commands to come out of the residence,' DeGase said.
'She said she had two guns,' DeGase said. 'She was not going to put them down. This went on for a few seconds and then she came to the door producing two firearms. Shots were fired. She sustained one gunshot wound to the right eye that exited by the temple area, and she was airlifted out and then she was taken by ambulance to Barnes in Saint Louis, and she is still in critical condition.'
DeGase says serving warrants is one of the most dangerous parts of policing, but he says CaseNet, the popular online database with almost any public record of a Missouri court case, could potentially be making things even more dangerous.
'I think one of the biggest problems right now is people know police are coming, you know, with CaseNet and everything. I just got off the phone with our prosecutor. With CaseNet, people know they have warrants. Years ago, I mean, I'm in year 32 at law enforcement, 17 as the Sheriff, you know, it wasn't as hard to round somebody up on a warrant. Most of the time because they didn't know they had it. In situations like this, they look on CaseNet, and they know they got a warrant and they can prepare for it. So to me, that's one of the most dangerous parts of it.'
The woman involved in this is Susan Sinclair, Sheriff DeGase says.
It's not the first time the DCSO has run into Sinclair.
'I know we dealt with her on the issue with the with the dogs back in 2023. I believe the local city police here had an encounter with her where she may have resisted arrest with them,' DeGase said.
Sinclair had been arrested for over 50 counts of animal neglect and abandonment, and had been sentenced in 2024.
DeGase adds the only reason the DCSO was even at Sinclair's home Wednesday night was because she wasn't following the rules of her previous sentencing.
'She was not in compliance with what she was supposed to be doing when she took a plea agreement on the initial charge,' DeGase said.
DeGase is hoping Sinclair recovers but hopes she's charged and put in jail.
'I mean, she shot at law enforcement. She should never see the light of day. Even if she shot at somebody else, she should never be out. I think just the actions that she took, I mean, my guys gave her every opportunity to come out of that house and not get shot. There's going to be some more evidence that will come forward that, you know, indicate that that she was not no matter what happened, she wasn't going to come out without a fight,' DeGase said. 'We're just kind of in the beginning stages of that portion of this investigation, but, yeah, it's I mean, honestly, I hope we never have to deal with her again. You know, not saying that I wish she was dead. I'm just saying, you know, when it comes time for her to go to court, she does not need to see the light of day again.'
As of now, the two deputies involved are currently on paid leave.
The Christian County Sheriff's Office will investigate the officer-involved shooting.
DeGase thanks the Ava Police Department for stepping in to help with calls during the initial response last night.
'A lot of people don't realize that our calls still kept coming in, and the Ava Police Department was taking calls for hours out in the county because every single one of my deputies were tied up there, and we really appreciate that,' DeGase said.
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