Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett says no charges will be filed in a fatal officer involved shooting that took place at an east Wichita intersection last December.

Bennett had a Zoom conference with reporters Thursday to announce the results of an investigation into a shooting that happened as officers were trying to stop a robbery suspect at 13th and Webb Road.

Officers were called to a report of a robbery at the Golden Plains Credit Union near Kellogg and Webb Road on December 21st, 2020.   Officers spotted the suspect’s pickup and chased it north on Webb Road to 13th Street.   The pickup hit two vehicles and a patrol car trying to get away from officers, and one officer fired shots into the pickup, killing 50-year-old Paul Peraza.   The pickup turned out to be stolen.

Bennett said the officer felt there was a danger to the public as well as another officer who had arrived as backup, and he fired four shots.  Three of them struck Peraza.  Bennett said under state law and the facts of the incident, there is no basis for charges to be filed.

Bennett said an autopsy found that Peraza had alcohol and illegal narcotics in his system.