Qavon Webb: I-44 Shooting, Dashcam Video, and No Charges

The Qavon Webb I-44 shooting took place on the evening of May 5, 2020, when 23-year-old Qa’Von Ja’Vari Lee-Webb opened fire on Webster Groves Police Officer Brendan McGahan after the officer approached Webb’s stopped car on Interstate 44 in Webster Groves, Missouri. Webb shot McGahan six times before the officer returned fire and killed him. St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell later ruled the officer’s use of force justified and filed no charges.¹

What Happened on I-44

At about 8:20 p.m., McGahan spotted a white sedan stopped in the far-left passing lane of I-44 near Elm Avenue. Investigators later concluded the car had stalled due to a mechanical failure. McGahan pulled his cruiser behind the sedan, got out carrying only a flashlight, and approached on the left shoulder to check on the driver.²³

From about five or six feet away, McGahan reached the driver’s side. Webb flung the door open and shot him in the chest. The officer fell. Webb then circled McGahan on the ground and fired five more shots, striking his hand, arm, buttocks, and leg. The chest round was stopped by McGahan’s body armor but left bruising and tissue damage. When Webb’s weapon ran empty, he physically attacked the fallen officer.⁴³

McGahan returned fire with 13 shots, hitting Webb four times, including a fatal chest wound. The whole exchange lasted 19 seconds. Webb was pronounced dead at the scene. Other vehicles kept passing on the interstate, apparently unaware of what had happened, as McGahan radioed for help and applied a tourniquet to his own bleeding arm.²⁴

The Officer’s Injuries and Return to Duty

McGahan left the hospital the day after the shooting. As of December 2020, one or two bullets remained in his body because doctors judged removal too risky, though the rounds were not causing complications. He was cleared by a doctor and a psychologist and went back to active duty. The Webster Groves Police Department awarded him a Purple Heart, and he declined press interviews. Payroll records show he is still a Webster Groves officer, where he has served since December 2012.⁴⁵

Who Qavon Webb Was

Webb’s full name was Qa’Von Ja’Vari Lee-Webb. His documented court history was limited and municipal. In June 2017, Bel-Ridge cited him for a peace disturbance. In 2018, the same city cited him for marijuana possession and resisting arrest. Multiple hearings on the 2017 charge were postponed, and a municipal arrest warrant was issued in June 2019. That warrant was still active the night of the shooting, and Webb had three pending municipal cases when he died.⁶²

Whether the open warrant had anything to do with Webb’s decision to open fire was never established. Investigators did not publicly identify a motive, and no attorneys were listed for Webb in court records.⁶

The Prosecutor’s Decision

The St. Louis County Police Department, not Webster Groves, ran the criminal investigation. The case went to the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office in late December 2020 and was reviewed by the office’s Conviction and Incident Review Unit, an independent body Wesley Bell established in 2019 to look at police shootings and wrongful-conviction claims.¹

Bell announced no charges would be filed and called McGahan’s use of lethal force “fully justified.” He said: “In fact, his use of force — and the protective gear that blocked a gunshot to his chest — saved his own life. We are thankful that the officer reacted quickly, and that his life was spared.” Bell called the dashcam footage “key” to the investigation.¹³

The Dashcam Video

The 16-minute dashcam recording from McGahan’s cruiser was released to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in mid-December 2020. It shows McGahan walking up to the sedan, Webb throwing open the door and firing, and the full exchange that followed. Glare from the cruiser’s headlights partly obscures parts of the shooting. McGahan’s body camera was knocked off during the struggle, and rain later damaged that footage, leaving the dashcam as the main visual record.²

One detail caught investigators’ attention: before McGahan approached, Webb opened and closed his car door three times. Webster Groves Police Chief Dale Curtis described that behavior as suspicious in hindsight and said the video “speaks for itself” and supported the department’s internal finding that McGahan acted properly. The department planned to use the footage in firearms training to show how a routine welfare check can turn deadly.⁴

Why the Case Drew Little Public Protest

The shooting happened weeks before the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis touched off nationwide protests against police violence. Webb was Black and McGahan is white, but the Webster Groves case did not generate public protests.² John Chasnoff, co-chairman of the Coalition Against Police Crimes and Repression, said that when an officer is injured in a shootout, the circumstances look less suspicious to the public, and the group’s limited resources tend to go elsewhere.⁴

1
St. Louis American. Bell Clears Webster Groves Officer in Fatal I-44 Shooting Last May
2
St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Webster Groves Police Video Provides Harrowing Account of I-44 Shooting
3
KSDK. I-44 Fatal Shooting Police Officer Not Charged
4
Police1. Video: LEO Ambushed, Shot 6 Times by Stranded Motorist
5
St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Webster Groves Payroll Data
6
KSDK. Man Who Shot Webster Groves Officer Had Warrant From Bel-Ridge