Springfield Chief Williams 'proud' of officer's actions in Friday's shooting

Police say that 16-year-veteran Eric Morgan shot and killed William “Billy” Olesen in the line of duty on Friday while responding to a 911 call alleging an armed burglary was in progress at a house on north National Ave.

“Preliminarily, I'd say [Officer Morgan], performed exceptionally well,” Springfield police chief Paul Williams said. “I'm proud of the actions he took and the fact that he was able to avoid being injured himself during the altercation.”

Police say that Officer Morgan arrived on the scene first and alone, and that Olesen became violent. Olesen fired a gun shot at Officer Morgan, which is why he fired his duty weapon, according to police.

Olesen was pronounced dead at a hospital. Officer Morgan wasn’t injured.

"It's not something any police officer wants to do, which is take another human life," Chief Williams said. "Unfortunately, sometimes bad people in the world commit actions that require us to take an appropriate action in response. That's what happened in this instance and I'm proud of Officer Morgan for the way he handled himself in this situation."

A police spokesperson says they found three guns at the scene, and two of them were stolen.

Olesen had been convicted of crimes in Kansas, but friends say he straightened his life out after serving prison time.

He leased the house where Officer Morgan confronted him, and where the 911 call said a burglary was going on.

“That's what I don't want people to think that he was some kind of outlaw, because he wasn't,” Olesen’s friend and co-worker, Oso Avila said. “He was a humble man.”

Olesen worked at Electric Voodoo Tattoos off and on in Springfield for the past three years. His co-workers say they can’t believe this happened.

“He did have a positive influence on people,” Electric Voodoo owner Ron Henning said. “We've had a huge outcry of people who were tattooed by him who felt like he was a great guy, and they're shocked.”

They also say that they are dubious that Olesen had any guns, since he knew convicted felons face harsh penalties for being caught with a firearm.

Still, Springfield Police say that a gun was visible that afternoon.

“I'm not at liberty to discuss any particulars of the investigation,” Chief Williams said. “All I can say is [Olesen] was armed with a firearm, he did produce that firearm, he did fire at least one shot at Officer Morgan, and thankfully he was not hit by that round. Officer Morgan returned fire, shot the suspect, and he ultimately died.”

The next step is an investigation into the shooting. Springfield Police will present the facts to the Greene County Prosecutor’s Office so they can determine if Officer Morgan should be charged with a crime in Olesen’s death. SPD will also conduct a review to determine of Morgan followed correct protocol.

However, an independent investigation isn’t on the table. Chief Williams says that no department in southwest Missouri is better equipped to handle this investigation than his own.

Missouri Highway Patrol has done these investigations in the past, and often does them for smaller agencies, but Chief Williams says that isn’t necessary in this case.

He pointed to the lack of an independent investigative body in Missouri for officer-involved shootings, as there are in some other states.

“It's something I'd certainly be in favor of if we could create an investigative body that just does that,” Chief Williams said. “Trying to hand it off to another agency doesn't always work.”

Officer Morgan is on paid leave pending these investigations, but could come back to work sooner at Chief Williams’ discretion and after a psychiatric evaluation.