Troy Hamilton

Troy Hamilton, 37, was in a car that ran a stop sign near St. Charles Rock and North and South roads, Santoyo said at an afternoon press conference. St. John officers tried to pull the car over, but it didn't stop, and officers started the chase. "The vehicle was not stopping for them," Santoyo said. St. Ann police joined in, put a tracker on the car, and followed it to the house in the 3300 block of Welsberg Drive, southeast of Natural Bridge Road and Interstate 170. There, Hamilton got out of the car, there was a "physical altercation," and Hamilton pulled out a gun, Santoyo said. Two officers fired shots at Hamilton. One had six years of police experience, the other seven, Santoyo said. He did not further describe the altercation or gunfire. Santoyo said officers did not know the Welsberg home was where Hamilton lived. And he said the gun Hamilton had was stolen. Santoyo said one officer was taken to a hospital for treatment, but wouldn't say more. Boyd said she was in the home’s front bedroom watching tv when she heard two gunshots at about 12:20 am. She said she ran to the front door and opened it. There, through the glass in the storm door, she saw Hamilton laying face down on the porch and an officer standing in the grass just a few feet away. “I could hear Troy mumble something, but I couldn't make it out,” she said. “And I said, ‘Baby, I'm right here.’ But (the police) were telling me to get back. So it was like I couldn't help him without probably being shot too.” She said his body remained on the porch for almost six hours, uncovered for three. Police told her to stay inside the house while they investigated, she said. Terrel Davis said he was the man in the car with Hamilton. He said he wasn't sure why police were chasing them. He just saw squad car lights turn on behind them. "We drove two or three minutes ... came in the driveway and then (Hamilton) got out to go in the house," Davis said. "And then the next thing you know you hear shots." Davis said he was still in the car during the shooting and didn't witness the event itself. He saw officers run toward Hamilton, then he got out of the car and took off running. "I was scared for my life," Davis said.