KC activists say charges filed in pepper-spraying of teenager a sign of needed change
Local activists said the indictment of a Kansas City police officer in an excessive-force case involving a teen-aged protester — the fifth officer to be charged in the last year — is another sign for change in the police department.
Nicholas McQuillen, 38, faces a misdemeanor charge of fourth-degree assault. A grand jury indictment announced on Friday alleges McQuillen “recklessly caused physical pain to ... a juvenile, by spraying a chemical agent at and/or near her face and eyes.”
Lora McDonald, executive director of the Metro Organization for Racial and Economic Equity (MORE2), said her first thought after seeing the video of Tarence Maddox being dragged across the street was of his children who had to watch.
On May 30, Maddox and his daughter joined the protests at the Country Club Plaza. In a video that has been viewed more than 8.6 million times on social media, it can be seen where a line of Kansas City police officers on that day faces a group of protesters near West 47th Street and Mill Creek Parkway.
Maddox is heard yelling about police brutality and officers “prematurely using excessive force.”
Then about six officers approach Maddox, grab him and deploy pepper spray.
Maddox was pulled onto the street and taken into custody. No charges were filed against Maddox, according to court records. The video shows Maddox’s daughter being sprayed with the pepper spray in the face.
McDonald called the incident “egregious.” She pointed to a separate assault charge on a 15-year-old by a police officer that left the teenager with broken teeth and a gash on his head. She pointed also to other police killings, including of Cameron Lamb, Donnie Sanders and Terrance Bridges.
Last week, prosecutors said there was insufficient evidence to charge the officer who shot Sanders.
While she said she’s glad to see the indictment of McQuillen, she said it’s part of a greater systemic issue.
“I don’t see how we can turn a blind eye,” McDonald said. “And I don’t see how we can say we have a successful system in this city.”
Community activist Justice Horn said he thinks the charges should have come sooner, but acknowledged that bringing a case with a grand jury takes time.
“This is one drop in the bucket compared to how the department reacted to protesters last summer,” Horn said. “I think it’s a good thing that we are finally getting charges, but there’s a clear problem in the department with how they engage community members.”
Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker’s office announced the indictment late Friday afternoon. Baker said she “wasn’t given the choice” outside that process because the Kansas City Police Department chose to investigate itself in the matter and refused to issue a probable cause statement.
Kansas City police spokeswoman officer Donna Drake said in a statement Friday that McQuillen has been with the department since 2014 and is assigned to the patrol bureau.
Drake said the police department provided information to federal and county prosecutors as well as the FBI, regarding potential police civil rights violations.
“We respect and support the judicial process,” Drake wrote, referring any additional questions to the prosecutor’s office.
The Kansas City Fraternal Order of Police said in a statement on Friday that it was aware of the charge and would put its full support behind the officer.
“The FOP is very disappointed that the Prosecuting Attorney would bring such a charge when Officer McQuillen employed the lowest level of force available to him,” the FOP wrote. The statement continues: “We believe this charge has no merit and the FOP will fully support Officer McQuillen as he challenges it in Court.”
Rev. Vernon Howard, president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Greater Kansas City, said the responsibility for accountability lies with the police chief and the Board of Police Commissioners.
Friday’s indictment, he said, is “further compounding evidence of the truth that KCPD is a law enforcement agency and institution that continues to be infected by police brutality and excessive force against the African American community without accountability and without the necessary reforms which will prevent it.”
In August, Maddox filed a lawsuit against McQuillen and two other officers. A jury trial is scheduled for Jan. 24, 2022.
McQuillen is the fifth Kansas City police officer to be criminally charged in the past 10 months. All of the victims in those cases have been Black.
McDonald said the five indictments show a pattern.
In May, Matthew G. Brummett and Charles Prichard were charged with misdemeanor assault related to their use of force during the arrest of Breona Hill. The charges were later upgraded to felony assault. Their trial is set for Dec. 6.
Eric J. DeValkenaere was indicted for first-degree involuntary manslaughter in the Dec. 3, 2019 killing of Cameron Lamb, 26. The detective’s trial is set to start July 12.
In August, Sgt. Matthew T. Neal was indicted on a felony assault charge involving a 15-year-old. The teen suffered a gash on his head and broken teeth.
Neal’s trial is scheduled for Nov. 15. The board of commissioners has already agreed to a $725,000 civil settlement.
McDonald — whose organization has been a part of a coalition of civil rights groups that also includes the SCLC, the Urban League of Greater Kansas City and the NAACP’s Kansas City branch — who is calling for police chief Rick Smith’s resignation and for local control of the police department, said she wants to see a system that’s accountable to Kansas City voters.
“If that was your child who had his teeth kicked out or your daughter who was pepper-sprayed right up in her face, how would you feel?” McDonald said.
The Star’s Katie Moore and Glenn E. Rice contributed to this story.
