KANSAS CITY —A man faces multiple charges after he fled from law enforcement and then tried to stab a Clay County Sheriff’s Office deputy with a box cutter at the end of the pursuit.
Just before 4a.m. Sunday, a sheriff's deputy saw a vehicle speeding and changing lanes without signaling on Interstate 435 near Shoal Creek Parkway, according to a media release from the Clay County Missouri Sheriff.
Dispatchers also confirmed the car’s license plate was registered to a different vehicle. When the deputy tried to pull the vehicle over, the driver later identified as Scott K. Adkins, 59, Independence, fled. He continued at high speed, swerving between lanes, at one point going off road and hitting a yield sign and low-hanging tree. The vehicle returned to 435 and continued fleeing until a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper conducted a tactical vehicle intervention (TVI) near Cookingham Road, bringing the car to a stop.
Adkins refused commands to exit the vehicle. He was acting erratically, reaching around inside the vehicle, which made law enforcement fear he was trying to locate a weapon. Law enforcement tried to negotiate with him to come out. Adkins refused and said police would have to kill him. When Adkins was momentarily distracted by looking at his phone, a Sheriff’s Office deputy took the opportunity to break a window of the vehicle to try to extract him.
After initially swinging a bag of mini donuts at the deputy, the suspect then thrusted a box cutter with the blade extended at the deputy. The deputy was able to avoid it, and he and all other law enforcement on scene backed away while an MSHP trooper continued negotiations. The suspect eventually started drifting in and out of consciousness, and then he started stabbing himself in the abdomen.
A Platte County Sheriff’s deputy was able to successfully deploy a Taser on on Adkins rendering him temporarily immobile. Clay County deputies were then able to remove him from the vehicle and get him safely into custody. An ambulance transported Adkins to the hospital, where he was determined to have only superficial wounds from the self-inflicted cuts. Deputies located six box cutters in the suspect’s vehicle.
Adkins is now in custody in the Clay County Detention Center on requested charges of second-degree assault on law enforcement, armed criminal action and aggravated fleeing from law enforcement (Valentine’s Law). His bond has been set at $200,000. Because his behavior throughout the incident indicated he may have been impaired by illegal narcotics, more charges for driving while intoxicated could be possible, pending lab results.