Documents: Woman charged with killing Graham Hoffman bit officer, tried to take ambulance

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Charging documents alleged that a murder suspect bit an officer and tried to drive off in an ambulance moments after fatally stabbing another paramedic.

Shanetta Bossell, 39, has been charged with first-degree murder, armed criminal action, third-degree assault on a special victim and resisting arrest.

A probable cause document filed in Clay County District Court stated that Bossell had been walking on the shoulder of Missouri Highway 152 just east of North Oak Trafficway on Sunday about 12:40 a.m. Officers saw Bossell “bleeding heavily” due to a cut on her finger and requested EMS. Bossell refused to go to the hospital with a police officer but agreed to be taken by ambulance. An officer followed the ambulance as it drove off to St. Luke’s North Hospital, the probable cause document stated.

At 1:25 a.m., the ambulance pulled over near the Platte Purchase exit and turned on its emergency lights. The trailing police officers saw the paramedic driver get out of the vehicle, run to the back and open the doors. First responders saw “a struggle” between KCFD paramedic Graham Hoffman and Bossell, court documents stated. Bossell had stabbed Hoffman in the heart with a knife.

Firefighter-paramedic Graham Hoffman died on April 27 at the age of 29.(Belton Fire Department, Kansas City Fire Department)

Hoffman was taken to North Kansas City Hospital, where he died from his injuries.

One of the police officers ran to the ambulance, saw Bossell jump into the front of the cab from the rear of the ambulance and try to put the vehicle in drive. She was unsuccessful, and the officer tried to grab her legs. She slipped out of his grip, the court document described, left the ambulance and tried to run around it. The officer cut her off, so she ran back to the ambulance and into the driver seat. At that point, the officer pulled out his “duty weapon.” He grabbed Bossell and pulled her from the driver’s seat and onto the ground. She then bit down hard on the officer’s arm, and the officer struck Bossell in the back of the head with his weapon until she released her bite.

The court document stated that the officer had to go to the hospital for the bite wound he received from Bossell.

She appeared virtually in court on Monday afternoon, entering a not guilty plea. A bond hearing was set for May 5. Her current bond is $1 million.

Bossell was also arrested on April 23, after she allegedly bit a Platte City Police Department officer during a separate arrest. She was previously charged with assault and resisting arrest.