St. Louis, Missouri — On November 21st, 2025, in a recently released video, St. Louis Airport Police Officers were conducting foot patrols in Terminal 1 when they encountered an adult male, identified as Darius Kennedy, standing near a restroom entrance.
Officers instructed Kennedy to leave the airport. However, Kennedy refused to comply and pulled a knife from the sleeve of his jacket. The officers issued multiple verbal commands to Kennedy, instructing him to drop the knife.
Kennedy ignored those commands and moved toward the officers. One officer deployed a taser, striking Kennedy, but it was ineffective. Kennedy, who was still armed with a knife, turned and ran in the direction of another police officer. That officer fired a service weapon, striking Kennedy.
Following the shooting, the officers administered aid to Kennedy. However, he was pronounced deceased on scene. The investigation later determined Kennedy was 31 years old and was unhoused. Detectives recovered a knife attributed to Kennedy.
Field Lessons are offered strictly as general, industry-standard reminders drawn from common safety practices and typical policy considerations. They are not based on any inside knowledge of this specific incident, do not presume what actions were taken, and should not be interpreted as commentary on the decisions made at the scene.
- Treat edged weapons as time problems. Distance and angles buy time, and time buys options. Train to move, create space, and avoid getting pinned in hallways or doorways.
- Early recognition and clear commands matter. When a blade appears, shift immediately to simple, loud, consistent commands and avoid competing instructions from multiple officers.
- Target fixation or glancing is a common pre-incident indicator of violence. In this incident, the suspect’s supposed compliance means little, as he turned his head to identify the officers’ location.
- Plan for less lethal failure. Tasers can miss, be blocked by clothing, or fail to stop forward momentum. Train your transition from less lethal to lethal without hesitation or confusion.
- Manage the approach geometry. Closing the distance with an edged weapon increases risk quickly. If you must close, do it with a deliberate plan for cover, angles, roles, and contingencies.
- Use team roles on contact. Assign lethal cover, less lethal, hands-on control, and communications. In a confined public space, one person has to own containment and bystander control.
- Control the corridor. Airports, terminals, and transit areas create choke points and crossfire risks. Prioritize moving bystanders away and preventing officers from stacking in the same fatal funnel.
- Watch hands, not stories. People may be fearful, disoriented, or say irrational things. Your safety cues are hands, waistband access, blade presentation, footwork, and closing distance.
- Train for continued resistance after shots. Build reps for post shooting control, weapon retention, and coordinated restraint while maintaining security.
- Medical gear placement and access should be automatic. Have tourniquets staged where either hand can reach them, and rehearse immediate care while another officer maintains cover.
Dr. Travis Yates has pioneered a behavioral risk framework to help officers and leaders identify, assess, and articulate risk in rapidly evolving, uncertain situations. Find out more about the FOCUS Behavioral Risk Framework.
