St. Louis police chase truck into Jefferson County, shoot and kill driver

Police identified the dead man as Terry Pfeffer, 45, of Arnold.

The chase began when St. Louis police tried to stop a red Ford F-150 pickup in south St. Louis about 7 a.m. Thursday because it was reported stolen. Pfeffer, the driver, fired shots at the officers and took off, said Mitch McCoy, a spokesman for the St. Louis Police Department.

The officers, with the St. Louis Police Department’s anti-crime task force, chased the truck onto Interstate 55, and Pfeffer fired shots several more times during the chase, police said. Officers from other agencies joined the pursuit and tried to stop the pickup with spike strips.

The chase ended about 7:45 a.m. south of Arnold in unincorporated Jefferson County, about 15 miles from the St. Louis city limits. The truck crashed behind an apartment complex on the dead-end street of Westward Trails Drive, west of Jeffco Boulevard in the area of Imperial. Residents reported hearing a flurry of gunfire.

Investigators haven’t said how many shots were fired.

Jefferson County Sheriff Dave Marshak said his sheriff’s deputies responded to the scene, but Marshak said deputies did not fire any shots.

St. Louis police fired the shots that killed Pfeffer.

Police initially tried to stop the pickup at South Broadway and East Schirmer Street, in St. Louis’ Patch neighborhood. In addition to being stolen, it was “driving dangerously,” McCoy said.

“Multiple times during the pursuit, shots were being fired at our detectives,” McCoy added.

The St. Louis Police Department’s policy on vehicle pursuits states, in part: Police can chase a vehicle if the officer has “reason to believe that the suspect has committed a felony involving the use, or threatened use, of deadly force and a delay in apprehending the suspect(s) will pose a danger to other people.”

Because the fatal shooting happened in Jefferson County, Marshak’s department will investigate it. He said the St. Louis officers’ use of force appears justified.

“Law enforcement use of force appears to be very appropriate,” Marshak said. “There’s some certainties in life, and one of them should be if you shoot at police the police are gonna shoot back.”

Marshak said it wasn’t a simple case of a stolen vehicle.

“As soon as they encountered the vehicle, the suspect started shooting,” Marshak said. “Police have every bit of authority — even in the most restrictive policy I’ve ever seen — there’s no doubt when you’re shooting at law enforcement officers, you’re a violent suspect.”

Marshak noted that the shooting happened around the same time many police officials in the St. Louis region were gathering for the annual police memorial breakfast.

A woman ran from the pickup after it crashed. Marshak said she was taken into police custody and was cooperating with investigators, even confirming that Pfeffer was the one who shot at officers during the chase.

Police recovered a handgun. Authorities said Pfeffer’s criminal background includes charges for drugs, weapons, assault, tampering with a motor vehicle and resisting arrest.