ST. LOUIS _ A warrant was issued for a St. Louis police officer Thursday after an internal affairs investigation concluded the officer shot a man he was chasing multiple times in the back on Aug. 27, 2018.
Officer Matthew EerNisse, 26, who has been on the police force for two years, is charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action.
The man whom EerNisse shot was treated at Barnes-Jewish Hospital for gunshot wounds.
Police did not immediately return a request for comment Thursday evening.
A probable cause statement says that on Aug. 27, 2018, a police officer spotted a stolen Ford Mustang near 4949 Natural Bridge Ave.
The officer tried to pull the car over, but a man driving the car didn't stop. A police chase started, and EerNisse joined in.
The vehicle pursuit ended in the 1100 block of Clara Avenue when the driver of the Mustang lost control of the car and fled on foot.
EerNisse ran after him to the backyard of a nearby residence in the 5500 block of Chamberlain Avenue, the statement says.
As the driver climbed a boarded-up gate, EerNisse fired his weapon at the driver from behind, according to the statement.
The statement says that the officer continued to fire his weapon through the boarded-up gate at the driver, hitting him several times in the back, and the man collapsed in a gangway.
The statement says there was no way for EerNisse to see into the gangway as he shot the driver.
At the time of the shooting, Police Chief John Hayden said, the driver had reached toward his waistband as he ran away.
But the driver was not seen with a gun at any time during the pursuit, and police found no gun on or near the driver, the statement says.
The officer who wrote the probable cause statement says EerNisse is a danger to the driver and the community.
The officer's bond is set at $50,000, and he is not allowed to have a firearm, according to court records.
