VELDA CITY, Mo. (KMOX) -- A grand jury has returned indictments against two Velda City officers who shot and seriously injured a suspect earlier this year.
Matthew Schanz and Christopher Gage are accused of shooting the victim as he tried to flee a traffic stop. The suspect's car hit a dead end, and Schanz -- fearing for his life -- fired as the car drove back toward him and as it drove past.
"[Internal Affairs] said, 'why didn't you turn around and run away,'" Schanz said at a July news conference where charges against him were announced, he appeared while he was posting bond and took questions from reporters. "As a police officer, I'm not trained to turn around and run away. I'm trained to handle the situation."
Officer Gage also reportedly fired into the vehicle.
"I was the one in the middle of the road, the vehicle was coming towards me, I gave several commands to stop, the vehicle did not stop. At that point I was in fear for my life and that's when I pulled the trigger," Schanz said in July.
Both men face counts of armed criminal action and first-degree assault.