Former Missouri police officer who shot into car gets probation after guilty plea

CLAYTON, Mo. (AP) — A former Missouri police officer was sentenced Monday to five years of probation for shooting into a fleeing vehicle several times and wounding the driver.

Matthew Schanz, 36, pleaded guilty to second-degree assault. As part of the plea agreement, he must surrender his state law enforcement certification until his probation ends. His attorney, John Bouhasin, didn’t immediately respond to a message left Monday seeking comment.

Schanz and Christopher Gage were officers in Velda City, a St. Louis suburb. In February 2020, they stopped a driver for expired temporary tags. Prosecutors said the driver drove off when officers found marijuana in the car, and Schanz fired nine shots at the fleeing vehicle.

The 37-year-old driver crashed after being shot. He was seriously injured but recovered.

Gage, who also opened fire, pleaded guilty last year to unlawful use of a weapon and was sentenced to three years of probation.

___

This story was updated to correct the spelling of Clayton in the dateline. It had been misspelled Clatyon.

Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.