Kansas City man injured by tear gas canister during Plaza protest sues highway patrol
A Kansas City man who was severely injured by a tear gas canister fired by police in the summer of 2020 has filed a lawsuit against the Missouri State Highway Patrol, accusing the agency of infringing on his constitutional rights.
Humberto Gonzalez filed the lawsuit Friday in Jackson County Circuit Court. He accused the highway patrol — including Trooper Daniel J. Dalton, Col. Eric Olson and several unknown troopers — of violating his first First, Fourth and Fourteenth amendment rights, along with battery and assault.
Gonzalez suffered a compound leg fracture when a tear gas canister struck his leg on May 30, 2020. He was among hundreds of protesters gathered at the Country Club Plaza to demonstrate against the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis and police brutality.
The complaint says Gonzalez, along with his friends, stood across a line of officers who were wearing riot gear between The Plaza and Westport. Trooper Dalton then fired a tear gas canister directly at Gonzalez, knocking him to the ground, the lawsuit said.
The force of the canister hitting his leg snapped his tibia and fibula in two. His tibia broke through his skin, the lawsuit said.
Trooper Dalton knew that firing at Gonzalez was an excessive use of force that could cause danger to him, according to the lawsuit. The complaint said other Troopers could have intervened and told Trooper Dalton to not fire at protesters.
The lawsuit said that Trooper Dalton had an obstructed view of Gonzalez and could not have known if he was about to obstruct law enforcement officers from performing their jobs.
The highway patrol did not respond to a request for comment on Saturday.
Several protesters helped carry Gonzalez to St. Luke’s Hospital emergency room. He was transferred to the University of Kansas Medical Center where he underwent emergency surgery.
Over the next several weeks, Gonzalez could not walk without assistance, could not drive and also had to sleep with friends because his apartment’s elevator was inoperable.
The lawsuit takes aim at the highway patrol, alleging that policy failures resulted in Gonzalez’s injury.
“(T)he Missouri State Highway Patrol lacked a number of obvious and necessary policies, which, if enacted, trained on, and enforced, would have prevented the use of excessive force on Humberto Gonzalez,” the complaint said.
Last summer, the Kansas City police commissioners agreed to pay Gonzalez in a legal settlement.
