A man was shot by KCPD in 2017 for allegedly firing a gun at a crowd. Now he’s suing
A Kansas City man who was shot by a police officer while firing a gun in the crowded Westport entertainment district is now suing the department, saying he was acting within his right to defend himself.
Martez L. Irvin, 29, said in a lawsuit filed Thursday in Kansas City’s federal courthouse that the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners and Officer Terrence Brown — who shot him — acted outside the law. It contends Irvin was shooting at a man who’d shot his friends first and who was trying to shoot him.
Capt. Leslie Foreman, a Kansas City police spokeswoman, said in a statement that the department generally does not comment on pending litigation “to ensure fairness to all sides.”
The shooting unfolded as bars were closing on Saturday, July 17, 2017. The lawsuit said Irvin was out with friends that night to celebrate his birthday.
As Irvin was heading home, he alleges an unknown man exchanged words with his group. Then the man started shooting, the lawsuit contends.
That prompted Irvin to retrieve a pistol from his car and return fire about three times, according to the lawsuit. During the course of “defending himself and his companions,” the lawsuit says Brown shot him “without warning causing Irvin to suffer severe bodily injuries.”
The lawsuit alleges Irvin was handcuffed while bleeding on the ground and spent several days in the hospital recovering from injuries.
Police have said that officers were patrolling near 40th Street and Pennsylvania when they heard a shootout nearby. An officer then saw a man shooting into a crowd and fired his service weapon at the suspect, police have said.
Three people, including Irvin, were wounded during the early-morning exchange of gunfire. Police said at the time that they believed the two others shot were wounded by the suspect.
Court records do not show Irvin being charged or convicted of a crime related to the shootout. It remained unclear Saturday whether anyone had ever been charged with a crime related to the event.
The lawsuit was first filed in Jackson County Circuit Court last month against Brown and the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners. But it was moved to federal court last week.
The Missouri Attorney General’s Office is defending the police board. An attorney for the office filed a motion this week to dismiss the lawsuit, saying it provides no evidence that shows Irvin’s rights were violated.
The shooting occurred the same year Missouri lawmakers passed an expansion of “stand-your-ground” rights. In Kansas City, the change was criticized by many officials who pointed to a rise in shootouts between citizens and greater challenges for law enforcement.
