JCPD details witness accounts of Erik Spencer shooting death
Jazsmin Halliburton
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
Cole County’s top prosecutor and the Jefferson City police chief detailed the investigation into a shooting in a commercial parking lot that resulted in no charges during a news conference Friday.
Prosecuting Attorney Locke Thompson and Jefferson City Police Department Chief Eric Wilde expressed sympathy to the family of Erik Spencer II, who was shot during a confrontation Nov. 1 in a parking lot outside Old Navy.
“Everybody in this room I think is mourning for Erik Spencer, including me. This has been tough,” Wilde said. “But we have to operate within the rules of criminal justice. We have to operate in accordance with the laws of the state of Missouri.”
Wilde said no video existed of the shooting or the events leading up to the shooting, so police had to rely on eyewitness statements.
He said those eyewitnesses said Spencer was physically assaulting a woman, including pulling her out of a car, on the west side of the Chilli’s restaurant before he was confronted and shot. He had already thrown the woman to the ground several times, Wilde said.
“The victim eventually or initially escaped from Erik Spencer, she attempts to get in her vehicle but she’s blocked by spencer and she tries to drive away,” Wilde said.
According to police, the woman then drove her vehicle a few feet away getting closer to the Old Navy.
Witnesses told police Spencer then threw her phone on the ground two times.
The shooter, Spencer Scrivner , a Missouri Department of Corrections Officer, was in a vehicle in the same parking lot and near the Chili’s restaurant. After he witnessed the physical altercation, Wilde says Scrivner pulled a firearm out of his vehicle and approached Spencer.
Scrivner claims when he approached him, Spencer made movements towards his waistband and threatened to shoot him. Scrivner then shot Spencer four times.
“Witnesses also report Scrivner kneeled next to Erik Spencer and attempts to provide aid. In an interview, it indicates he intervened in the situation on behalf of the domestic violence victim and shooting was done in defense of the domestic violence victim and himself when is received a threat from Erik Spencer,” Wilde said.
On Thursday, Thompson said in a news release that no charges will be filed against Scrivner for the Nov. 1 shooting.
Thompson said a grand jury declined to indict Scrivner for manslaughter, armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon. The grand jury found Scrivner’s actions were done “in lawful defense of another,” Thompson wrote in a news release.
Thompson said on Friday that under Missouri law, a reasonable person in that position can use deadly force if they believe that doing so is necessary to prevent death or serious injury. However, both Thompson and Wilde reiterated the decision does not mean law enforcement agrees with what occurred.
“It does not mean we stand up here today to condone the shooter’s actions. Regardless of how things played out, Eric Spencer was a beloved son, brother, and uncle,” Thompson said. “No matter the circumstances, his death is a tragedy and our condolences go out to his parents, sisters, and other family and friends.”
Thompson also said charges of unlawful use of a weapon and armed criminal action– which the grand jury also considered– no longer applied since it was found that he acted out of self-defense. He also said it would have been hard to prove that Scrivner knowingly shot toward other stores in the area.
“The only thing we would have been able to prove at that point was that he was knowingly shooting at Erik Spencer,” Thompson said.
Wilde said that the reported assault victim gave inconsistent statements in the investigation. Thompson said she first claimed the confrontation with Spencer was not physical.
Thompson said the grand jury made the decision not to charge the shooter, and that he had no input in that decision.
Thompson said Friday that Scrivner told investigators Spencer had threatened to shoot him. Spencer did not have a weapon, Wilde said. Four shots were fired, he said.
“It was hard to say he was unarmed when he has the ability to strike, kick or punch,” Wilde said. “But armed with a firearm? No. Armed with an edged weapon like a knife or blunt instrument? No.”
ABC 17 News asked Thompson and Wilde if they thought four shots were excessive in this case.
“It ultimately comes down to the decision of the shooter,” Wilde said. “Officers are trained and we are trained to fire until we perceive a threat no longer exists,”
“I would say generally speaking in a lot of the weapon offense cases we see four shots is not a lot,” Thompson said.
Scrivner, was put on leave from the DOC during the investigation. Police said his statement remained the same throughout the several times he was interviewed.
The Spencer family has called for transparency and criminal charges during multiple public appearances.