KALAMAZOO (WKZO) - The first Kalamazoo City Police officer killed in the line of duty has been identified as a ten year veteran of the department, 35-year old Eric Zapata. He was shot to death late last night after responding to a report of shots fired in a neighborhood on the south side of town.
Jeff Hadley, chief of the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety, told a news conference this afternoon that Zapata was wearing body armor when he was shot in the chest and head by 31-year old Leonard “Danny” Statler of Kalamazoo. Statler then died when he turned the gun on himself.
The incident was first reported around 11:15 last night in the 14-hundred block of Hays Park Avenue. The first officer on scene found Statler on the porch of a home and asked him if he’d heard gunshots. Hadley said Statler then advanced toward the officer brandishing a handgun and the two exchanged shots. Statler then ran between houses and that’s when he confronted Zapata and opened fire.
Hadley said three words described the mood of his fellow officers today, ”shocked, stunned, hurt”. Statler had a record of two arrests in the last decade, one for carrying a concealed weapon, the other for malicious destruction of fire or police property. He reportedly was dealing with a number of personal problems lately, including custody issues over his 4-year old daughter.
Kalamazoo Public Safety officers today were wearing a black band across their badges in memory of officer Zapata.
