Shot then ran over

Shootout felon Nicholas Wallar sentenced to 30 years in prison

Independence, MO — Independence Police Sgt. Steven Boles says he “fought to stay alive” that night.

And fight he did, but not without help.

Nicholas F. Wallar fired off five rounds from a .38-caliber revolver at Boles. The 12-year officer had fallen to the ground. He struggled to pull his handgun from its holster. Once he did, Boles began shooting at Wallar. A shootout ensued between Wallar and Boles and another officer, Barry Huwar.

A Jackson County Judge on Thursday sentenced the 30-year-old Wallar to 30 years in state prison for shooting at police and carjacking. He must serve 251⁄2 years before he’s eligible for parole, according to prosecutors.

The shootout happened on a rainy night on April 4, 2009.

A dispatcher earlier that night told officers an abandoned car was spotted on east 31st Street. The car had been forcefully stolen from a pizza delivery driver at a 7-Eleven.

Boles went to the area. Wallar had stolen the vehicle and another from a Blue Springs convenience store.

Boles saw a man walking near 35th and Lee’s Summit Road near the Midwest Genealogy Center. The officer got out of his car to approach Wallar.

Boles said he “barely got a word out” when Wallar reached in his waistband and pulled out a handgun. The sergeant retreated but stumbled to the ground.
“I heard the gunfire,” Boles says.

That’s what he remembers the most from the shootout – gunfire.

When he was on the ground, he thought “I’m about to die.”

Boles landed on his right side, which wasn’t good because he carried the handgun on his right. After finally getting to his knees and releasing the gun from the holster, Boles fired off three rounds. One caught Wallar in the chest.
Meanwhile, Wallar charged him. He shot and ran.

Officer Barry Huwar went to the area in search of the carjacking suspect. Huwar had a ride-along, an 18-year-old girl who was sitting in the front seat.

As he approached the scene, Huwar saw the frightful scene of a man shooting at Boles, and he saw Boles on the ground.

“I thought he got shot,” Huwar says. “I thought he was injured.”

Huwar drew his handgun. He did the only thing he could to protect Boles and the teenager in the passenger seat – Huwar fired through his patrol car’s windshield.

Like Wallar, who was running and shooting, Huwar was driving and shooting. He gunned the patrol car and fired four rounds at Wallar.

Wallar fell to the ground and Huwar continued driving, running Wallar over.

Wallar suffered a gunshot to the chest. The bullet is still lodged in his chest from Boles’ .357-caliber handgun.

The effects of the shooting still haunt Boles and Huwar, who continue to serve with the Independence Police Department.

Routine “pedestrian checks” are no longer routine for the two officers, they said. Hearts race a bit more than before. The adrenaline rushes. Boles suffered a few sleepless nights in the days following the crime. He got scared after watching the dash-cam video of the shootout.

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Cbro said:

Is 30 years the best they can do. It should be life without parole.

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herohog said:

Thank God for high ground Clearance!

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charliepapa said:

I thought it was the bad guy that was run over.(?)

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Speedlace said:

It was.
Perp was on the left, cop was on the right drawing his handgun.

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