Kansas court: Self-defense doesn’t apply when bystander hurt

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Kansas’ highest court says a state law allowing deadly force against an attacker doesn’t protect people from prosecution if a bystander is injured.

The state Supreme Court ruled Friday in the case of a Wichita police officer who shot at a charging dog and accidentally wounded a 9-year-old girl.

The justices ordered a trial in Sedgwick County District Court for former Officer Dexter Betts on a felony reckless aggravated battery charge.

The December 2017 shooting happened while Betts was inside a Wichita home on a domestic violence call when the dog charged. He fired twice but his shots hit the floor, and bullet fragments hit the girl above an eye and on a toe.