FBI seeks training records of Overland Park officer who fatally shot John Albers
Johnson County law enforcement agencies and the City of Overland Park have been served with federal subpoenas seeking records amid an FBI investigation on the fatal shooting of 17-year-old John Albers, court documents recently obtained by The Star show.
The latest batch of subpoenas obtained by The Star were served to the Shawnee, Overland Park and Olathe police departments in May. Records sought by the FBI are concentrated on the training of former Overland Park police officer Clayton Jenison, who fatally shot the teen, over the months he spent in the police academy in 2016.
The FBI acknowledged in September 2020 that the agency was investigating the possibility of a civil rights violation. Asked about the status of the FBI’s investigation on Tuesday, Kansas City FBI spokeswoman Bridget Patton said in an email to The Star that there was no additional information the agency would be releasing, as the investigation remains ongoing.
John Albers was shot to death Jan. 20, 2018 while Overland Park police were responding to a call for a welfare check at his home. Jenison fired 13 shots at the teenager, striking him six times, as he was backing the family minivan out of the driveway.
The police officer said he feared for his life and opened fire on the vehicle after Albers ignored commands to stop. Jenison left the department weeks after the shooting and received a $70,000 severance agreement under which the city of Overland Park said it would report to a statewide oversight agency that he left for personal reasons, The Star has previously reported.
In February 2018, one month after Albers was killed, Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe determined the shooting was justified under Kansas law and declined to file criminal charges.
In the years since, the shooting has sparked controversy within the community over the lethal use of force and the investigation of Jenison that followed.
Sheila Albers, the mother of the slain teenager, told The Star on Tuesday that she hopes the FBI investigation ends with an indictment of Jenison “in order to bring to light the multiple failures that occurred the night of the shooting.”
Records sought by the FBI include courses and exercises taught to Jenison by officers from Johnson County law enforcement agencies. They include firearms training, less lethal uses of force, emergency vehicle operations and officer survival practicals. From the city of Overland Park, the agency asked for records on the civil and criminal liability training Jenison received.
In the wake of calls for heightened transparency, and public records lawsuits from media organizations including The Star, the City of Overland Park in April released a trove of documents, videos and photographs related to the Johnson County Officer Involved Shooting Investigation Team’s investigation conducted after the shooting.
At the time the records were released, the city said its aim was to rebuild community trust and that the evidence represented a “complete and thorough” investigation. But questions have since been raised by some, including the Albers family, after some evidence has come to light that was not included in that initial release.
In May, The Star obtained a previously undisclosed laboratory report that described in greater detail the trajectory of the bullets fired through the Albers van. Hundreds of photographs related to the shooting investigation were released in June after they were reportedly discovered in an unlabeled folder. And last month, The Star obtained a digital scene reconstruction that was not initially included in the release of information.
This story was originally published October 12, 2021 at 5:50 PM.
