Police say they went to the parking lot of the apartment building about 1:45 a.m. They'd received a call that a man assaulted a woman there.

The assault victim pointed officers to the man. When they approached him, he ran into a second-floor apartment.

When an officer knocked on the door, the man threatened him with a knife. The officer told other officers that he felt in fear for his life and shot the man.

The officer is on administrative leave.

"Every time an officer is involved in a shooting, it takes a while to recover, and this time is no different," said Officer Grant Story, a spokesman for the Springfield Police Department.

The woman who was assaulted was taken to a hospital with injuries to her face.
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Police Department (edited) news release, 12:45 p.m.

A Springfield Police Officer shot a man threatening officers with a knife. The incident happened around 1:45 a.m. Thursday. Officers assigned to the Missouri State University substation had been dispatched across the street to 701 E. Elm St. to investigate an assault that occurred just outside that address.

The caller reported to 911 that a neighbor from next door assaulted the caller’s girlfriend, but no weapons had been seen. As officers arrived, they contacted the victim and verified she had been assaulted; her face was bleeding and bruised, but she initially refused medical attention.

While speaking with officers, the woman suddenly pointed out a man nearby and identified him as the one who assaulted her. As officers began to approach the man, he fled to his upstairs apartment in the building at 701 E Elm and slammed the door shut.

The only route to access the apartment was a flight of exterior stairs that ended at a small landing, approximately three feet across. Two officers climbed the stairs, led by Officer Jeff Ferneau.

Due to lack of space outside the man’s door, only Ferneau was able to stand in front of the door. After negotiating with the man for a few minutes through the door, it suddenly flew open and Ferneau saw the man lunging towards him with a large knife in his hand.

To stop the threat, Ferneau fired his weapon at the man, striking him in the upper body. The man died immediately.

The man was Donald Gaches, 43, of Springfield. Gaches had a lengthy criminal history including convictions for driving while intoxicated, drug violations, failure to appear, and making a false police report. Also, he was responsible for 10 domestic disturbances, four domestic assaults, four orders of protection violations and one harassment case in Springfield, all in the last six years.

Ferneau (above), 44, has been with the Springfield Police Department for 12 years. In keeping with standard procedure, he is on administrative leave with pay, pending further investigation into the shooting.

Before this incident the last officer-involved fatal shooting in Springfield was Oct. 8, 2003.