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By Laura Bauer
The Kansas City Star<\/p>\n
HIGHLANDVILLE, Mo. \u2014 The man authorities say fatally shot a deputy in southwest Missouri <\/a><\/span>and was killed in a shootout with law enforcement has a criminal history in the Kansas City area.<\/p>\n Richard Dean Bird, 45, was shot and killed early Tuesday after a lengthy manhunt, according to media reports from that area. Authorities launched that manhunt after Bird allegedly shot and killed Christian County Deputy Gabriel Ramirez during a traffic stop Monday afternoon.<\/p>\n After searching for Bird for hours, authorities caught up with him in a nearby county and engaged in gunfire early Tuesday. That\u2019s when another Christian County deputy was shot and killed, media reports show, and two more were injured. Of the two injured, one is a Christian County Deputy and the other a deputy from Webster County, according to the Springfield Daily Citizen<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been a long day. It\u2019s been a trying day,\u201d Christian County Sheriff Brad Cole told reporters early Tuesday. \u201cAnd the upcoming days are going to be harder than today was.\u201d<\/p>\n Bird used to live in the Kansas City area and has a criminal record on the Kansas side from that time.<\/p>\n In September 2014, Bird was arrested and charged for allegedly firing shots at a Johnson County, Kansas, sheriff\u2019s deputy investigating a theft at a construction site at 191st Street and State Line Road. At the time, Bird lived in Belton.<\/p>\n According to an article in The Star<\/a><\/span> after his arrest, Bird fired \u201cmultiple shots from a rifle at the deputy, who was not hit.\u201d<\/p>\n He was then charged with attempted first-degree murder and theft and his bond initially was set at $1 million.<\/p>\n In the end, Bird pleaded guilty to lesser charges and was sentenced in 2016 on five counts<\/a><\/span> stemming from that September 2014 incident.<\/p>\n Bird has a lengthy criminal history in both states. He was last released from the Kansas Department of Corrections in April 2023, online records from that agency said.<\/p>\n Less than a year later, he was charged in Taney County, Missouri, with second-degree burglary and first-degree trespassing. He was accused of \u201cforcibly entering an inhabitable structure\u201d in March 2024 and \u201cwas found with gloves, a flashlight, and a knife,\u201d court records show.<\/p>\n At that time, a probable cause statement describing the charges against him said he was a \u201cdanger to the community or to any other person.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRichard has been convicted of Burglary and Receiving Stolen Property (03\/19\/2003), Tampering (02\/10\/20114), Stealing MV (08\/09\/2021), Tampering (10\/06\/2022), and Theft out of Kansas (05\/31\/2016),\u201d the affidavit said. \u201cThere are reasonable grounds to believe that the defendant will not appear upon a summons because: Richard has had numerous charges for fleeing\/resisting as well as a probation violation.\u201d<\/p>\n Later in 2024, Bird was sentenced to a fine of $200 and court costs on each of the two new counts.<\/p>\n When speaking with reporters in southwest Missouri Tuesday morning, Sheriff Cole praised his two fallen officers for protecting the residents of Christian County.<\/p>\n \u201cWe do what we have to do to make sure that our citizens are safe,\u201d Cole told reporters, according to the Springfield Daily Citizen. \u201cAnd that\u2019s what we did today. We took a bad guy off the street and sent him where he needed to be.\u201d<\/p>\n The Billings Police Department posted a message on Facebook after the first deputy was shot and killed. Billings is located in Christian County.<\/p>\n \u201cGod called one home today,\u201d the post said. \u201cLet us focus our thoughts and prayers on the needs of his family and loved ones. There\u2019s no words for this senseless act to make any sense, so I won\u2019t even try.\u201d<\/p>\n The department\u2019s message also asked people to \u201cpray for the Christian County Sheriffs Office, the Christian County 911 dispatchers who were on the other end of those radio calls along with answering the 911 calls from the public\u2019s reports.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPray for all of the first responders who responded as their lives are forever changed. And continue to pray for the safety of the law enforcement community who are attempting to take the suspect into custody, and that no further law enforcement or innocent bystanders will be in harms way.<\/p>\n \u201cMay God Bless the Thin Blue Line brothers and sisters.\u201d<\/p>\n The manhunt for Bird ended in Stone County, south of Christian. Dozens of officers and deputies from across southwest Missouri had joined in the search for Bird.<\/p>\n The Aurora Police Department, in nearby Lawrence County , also posted about the deadly shooting.<\/p>\n \u201cWe wish we had the perfect words,\u201d the message said. \u201cWe just don\u2019t.<\/p>\n \u201cGod bless the Christian County Sheriff\u2019s Office, the Deputies that lost their lives, the ones recovering in the hospital, the families who have to navigate this unimaginable disaster, and the brothers and sisters in law enforcement who have just had to live through the worst 14 hours of their careers.<\/p>\n \u201cBlessed are the peacemakers.\u201d<\/p>\n This article, orignially published at 10:22 a.m. ET on Feb. 24, has been updated with addotional information about the shooting.<\/i> <\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/a><\/div>\n Vince McMahon said he was rushing to his granddaughter\u2019s birthday when he was driving over 100 mph while a Connecticut State Police trooper was trying to pull him over <\/p>\n <\/a><\/div>\n \n Gusmane Coulibaly, 27, was arrested after he was identified as one of four men shown in social media video throwing snowballs at police responding to a disorderly crowd<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/a><\/div>\n \n Trooper Bailey Martin was outside her cruiser when an SUV attempted to make a right turn at high speed; the driver missed the turn and crashed into Martin and her cruiser<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00b7\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n <\/a><\/div>\n \n The Worcester Police Department has about 400 sworn police officers, 58 less than full staffing, and 50 to 60 officers are up for retirement this year<\/p>\n \u00a92026 The Kansas City Star. Visit kansascity.com<\/a><\/span>. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\u2018Danger to the community\u2019<\/h2>\n
Messages from law enforcement<\/h2>\n
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