Topeka police said the shooting occurred after officers responded to a report of a disturbance and shots being fired near the park last morning and encountered the man, whom they described as "a suspicious person." He later was identified as 30-year-old Dominique Tyrell White, of Topeka.
"While fleeing from officers, the individual reached for the pocket containing the firearm, causing the officers to fire their weapons," police Lt. Colleen Stuart said in a video statement. "The individual's gun was recovered from the scene."
Lawrence police said both officers fired their guns immediately after White's struggle with them. White was pronounced dead at a Topeka hospital after being taken there by ambulance.
Officers from the Kansas Highway Patrol and Shawnee County Sheriff's Office also arrived at the scene as dozens of people gathered in the area, some of them agitated, according to local media. The crowd dispersed quickly.
"That boy was killed innocently, no reason, just by not stopping," Netherland said in a video posted online by The Topeka Capital-Journal.
But she also said people must obey officers' commands. "They need to stop whether you wrong or right you're going to be caught anyway," she said.