KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The man who shot and killed 22-year-old Independence police officer Blaize Madrid-Evans received a 15-year prison sentence in 2011 for another firearms-related crime, but he was paroled twice — first in July 2018 and again in May 2021 after returning to prison for a parole violation.
Cody Harrison, 33, of Gladstone, was identified Wednesday night as the man law enforcement officials say opened fire on officers responding to a call in the 2300 block of Northern Boulevard around 11:30 a.m. earlier that day.
Madrid-Evans, who was still in the Independence Police Department’s field training program after graduating from the police academy in July, died at a local hospital from his wounds Wednesday night. A Missouri State Highway Patrol spokesperson said Madrid-Evans' partner shot and killed Harrison during the exchange.
More than a decade ago, a 23-year-old Harrison was charged with shooting at a motor vehicle/person, a Class B felony, after Gladstone police said he fired multiple times into a truck driven by another man in March 2011.
A total of 10 spent .40-caliber shell casings were found in the area of North Park Avenue and Northeast 77th Street and bullets had shattered the rear window of the truck, flattened the driver’s side rear tire, pierced the front windshield and struck the sideview mirror on the driver’s side.
The driver recognized the shooter from the neighborhood as well as from a local fitness center, where both men worked out.
He said he’d seen Harrison with a gun at the gym several months earlier and picked him from a photo lineup.
Police found Harrison asleep in the basement at a house where he was staying and recovered a .40-caliber Springfield XD handgun along with ammunition that matched the casings found at the shooting scene from a nearby dresser.
Another resident of the house said Harrison told him he had “shot at someone” because the man was “continuously driving by the residence.”
Harrison refused to give a statement because he didn’t “want ‘things to get twisted’ and he was ‘protecting his family.’”
Gladstone police recommended charging Harrison with first-degree assault and armed criminal action. He was arrested and booked into Clay County Jail, where he remained awaiting trial.
Harrison pleaded guilty on Oct. 13, 2011, to unlawful use of a weapon and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
He was transferred to the Missouri Department of Corrections on Oct. 26 that year to serve his sentence.
The Missouri Board of Probation and Parole released Harrison on parole, which is supervised by the Department of Corrections, on July 24, 2018.
He was involved in a minor traffic crash on Sept. 11, 2018, in which he was cited for rear-ending another vehicle at a stop sign as he exited southbound Interstate 35 at Vivion Road. The citation, which was issued by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, was pleaded down to a non-moving violation.
Harrison’s most recent criminal charges stemmed from a Grain Valley burglary that took place Nov. 14, 2020.
Harrison allegedly robbed Moving Pros, where he had previously worked, in the early-morning hours.
According to Grain Valley police, Harrison allegedly cut a hole an industrial garage door, stole money, a safe, keys to moving trucks, and a steel dolly.
The owner of the business identified Harrison from surveillance video.
Four days after the burglary, Harrison was arrested on an unrelated parole violation. A Department of Corrections official described the violation as technical in nature, which is often for things like a failed test or a missed appointment with the parole officer.
Harrison was granted parole again on May 24, 2021, after more than five months in jail for the parole violation.
The Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Harrison with second-degree burglary and stealing on July 5, according to court records, and he was arrested 10 days later by Kansas City, Missouri, police officers.
He was booked into the Jackson County Detention Center on July 15, where he remained until he was released without bond after an Aug. 30 court hearing.
It’s unclear if his subsequent arrest on July 15 should have triggered another parole violation, but a Department of Corrections spokesperson said the Board of Probation and Parole didn't know about the news offenses before the case filed.
Three days later, KCPD arrested Harrison for allegedly carrying a firearm, which is illegal.
He was not booked into Jackson County jail in that case, but police did forward the case to Jackson County prosecutors for consideration of charges.
According to a statement Thursday from KCPD, Harrison was taken into custody as an "investigative arrest" for felon in possession. Officers recovered a handgun during the investigation and Harrison was booked into a detention unit, but "it was determined by KCPD to release him pending further investigation."
KCPD said that it submitted the case to prosecutors for review and consideration of charges on Sept. 7, but no charges had been filed in the case nor a warrant issued for Harrison's arrest related to the possible gun charge prior to Wednesday's deadly encounter with Madrid-Evans.
Harrison was due back in court this week in connection with the Grain Valley burglary, but he failed to appear at a scheduled hearing Monday, which led to a warrant for arrest and also would constitute a parole violation.
The first time Harrison was arrested and charged in Missouri, according to online court records, he was 18 years old at the time of his July 4, 2006, arrest in Clay County for car theft.
Harrison was formally charged Aug. 1 that year with first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle, which is a felony, and pleaded guilty Sept. 5 that year to an amended charge of second-degree tampering with a motor vehicle, which is a Class A misdemeanor.
Harrison received a one-year suspended sentence and instead was placed on probation for two years.
Less than two months later, Harrison was cited for misdemeanor marijuana possession on Nov. 3, 2006, in Platte County.
He failed to appear at a December 2006 court hearing and was re-arrested on a bench warrant January 2007 before being released without bail.
Harrison failed to appear in court again in late January 2007, but that bench warrant was withdrawn when he appeared in court in February 2007.
Eventually, he requested to enter a guilty plea and was sentenced to 60 days in jail with credit for time already served on Aug. 21, 2007.
Harrison’s driver’s license also was revoked for a year and he was required to complete a substance abuse program, which he did in March 2009.
Harrison’s probation from the motor-vehicle tampering case was revoked in May 2007 after his arrest for drug possession, landing him in Clay County Jail from March 2007 through February 2008, according to the Clay County Sheriff’s Office.
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