Police Officer Jeffrey Glenn Atherly

Jeffrey Glenn Atherly

Police Officer Jeff Atherly and Corporal David Gogian were shot and killed while checking on a suspicious vehicle in a grocery store parking lot on the 1400 block of SW Huntoon Street shortly after 6:00 pm.

Several minutes after making contact with the multiple subjects in the vehicle, one of them opened fire, fatally wounding Officer Atherly and Corporal Gogian. A third officer on the scene was not wounded.

The subject, who opened fire, fled in the vehicle and was located in a home on Third Street, where he barricaded himself for several hours. He was eventually shot and killed after exiting the house while carrying a firearm. He had a criminal record, and his probation had just ended.

Officer Atherly had served with the Topeka Police Department for just under two years. He is survived by his child.