A Washington County Sheriff's deputy remained on administrative leave today after fatally shooting an armed Washington County man Sunday afternoon.

According to police, John L. Turntine, 25, threatened the deputy with a butcher knife and was headed toward him when the deputy fired a single shot. Washington County Ambulance District transported Turntine to the Washington County Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Per policy, Sheriff Kevin Schroeder asked the Highway Patrol's Division of Drug and Crime Control to investigate the shooting. Schroeder would not release the name of the deputy, but said he is on paid leave while the Highway Patrol investigates the incident. The department has arranged for counselors and members of the clergy to counsel the deputy.

A second deputy, who witnessed the shooting, remained on active duty but was receiving counseling, Schroeder said this morning.

“She was about 50 yards away, but she witnessed the entire thing,” Schroeder explained. “This was a very traumatic experience for both of them. They are both doing as well as can be expected given the circumstances.”

The deputies responded to a 3:30 p.m. emergency call that an intoxicated white male was threatening individuals in the 10,000 block of Province Road. Schroeder said the man was threatening the family. He had struck one person in the face with a picture frame and was breaking things around the house.

When deputies arrived, Turntine fled out the rear door of the home and into a field with scattered oak trees. The deputies followed him and spoke with him for 25 minutes in an attempt to get him to discard the butcher knife. Turntine refused to do so approached the male deputy “in an aggressive manner with the knife drawn.” The deputy fired his service weapon once, striking Turntine.

As part of the investigation, the Highway Patrol gathered copies of the 911 recordings and transcripts, interviewed members of the family, and ordered blood samples from each deputy. The Sheriff's Department also turned the butcher knife over to the Highway Patrol. Autopsy results also will go to the investigators.

“Our job in any investigation is to gather all the evidence that is there,” said Corp. Julie Scerine of the Missouri Highway Patrol. “We turn it over to the prosecutor, who makes the determination whether it's a lawful shooting or is unjustified.”

Scerine did not know how long the investigation would take and said that would depend on the number of witnesses they need to interview.

“It depends on the complexity of the case,” Schroeder explained. “This case isn't that complex in that there weren't any other witnesses.”

The sheriff did not know how long it had been since there had been a shooting by a Washington County deputy, or whether there had ever been a fatal shooting before.

The deputy will remain on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.

Turntine's family members could not be reached for comment this morning.

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