Florissant Police: Cannon Confessed to Shooting of Officer Vernon

The department held a press conference Tuesday afternoon to provide status updates on the officer’s condition, the investigation as well as what happened during the early hours of Memorial Day.

Florissant Police Capt. Tim Lowery of the bureau of field operations said that Officer Vernon as well as others responded to the call of a burglar alarm in the 1800 block of Banstead and were investigating the direction that the burglar had fled.

Vernon stepped out of his car to investigate a pair of shorts that he noticed on the ground when Cannon allegedly hopped out of some nearby dumpsters and shot at Vernon five times and hit him three times.

Vernon was shot in his shoulder, chest and leg, and is in critical but stable condition at DePaul Hospital. Earlier reports said that Vernon was only shot twice.

Capt. Randy Boden of the bureau of investigations said that Cannon confessed hours after the incident and volunteered to take officers back to the scene and re-enact the events. Capt. Boden said that the investigation remains ongoing at this time.

Police arrested Cannon Monday for charges of assault in the first-degree of a law enforcement officer, armed criminal action and second-degree burglary. He is being held in St. Louis County Justice Center on $500,000 cash-only bond.