The police officer who pulled the trigger during a Russian Roulette-esque game that ended in the death of a 24-year-old police colleague.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Officer Nathaniel Hendren is facing involuntary manslaughter charges after he pulled the trigger of a gun he was playing with at his apartment on January 24, fatally shooting 24-year-old off-duty officer Katlyn Alix.
Hendren and his partner Patrick Riordan were reportedly on duty at the time, and both Hendren and Alix had previously pulled the trigger on the gun that killed Alix, and those times the weapon did not fire a bullet.
Alix was a U.S. Army veteran who had been with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department for two years.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch obtained a disciplinary document, written by St. Louis Metropolitan Police Lt. William Brown. alleging that both Hendred and Riordan, who reportedly asked his colleagues to stop handling the gun before the fatal shooting, had been drinking while on duty.
Hendred’s attorney told the newspaper that he could not comment about the allegations because he did not have access to the result of any drug or alcohol tests given to his client, and complained that authorities were withholding information from him.
Riordan’s lawyer James Towey told the newspaper that his client had admitted to taking “a few sips of a beer” while spending time with his fellow officers at Hendren’s home, before he poured the rest of the beer down the drain. The attorney claimed the Riordan “blew all zeroes” when he was administered a breathalyzer shortly after the fatal incident.
Although authorities initially characterized the fatal shooting as an accident, St. Louis Police Chief John Hayden was critical of the officers’ behavior at a press conference this week, according to the New York Daily News.
“The circumstances around the shooting were much more reckless and dangerous than what I had originally understood,” Hayden said.
Hendren reportedly posted bail and is currently under house arrest.
[Feature image: Katlyn Alix/St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department]
