Man shot four times by police in Kansas City, Kansas, sues cops, Unified Government
A man who was shot and severely wounded by Kansas City, Kansas, police two years ago is now suing the officers and Wyandotte County, claiming the officers needlessly used lethal force while trying to arrest him.
Joshua Brunson, 33, filed a civil lawsuit Tuesday in the U.S. District of Kansas that says he was unarmed and “not a threat to anyone” when he was shot four times by officers Collin Ward and Danny Thornton on Memorial Day in 2020.
He contends the injuries he sustained caused him extreme pain and — due to bullets that remain near his spinal cord — fear that he may one day become paralyzed, his lawyers wrote in the petition for a jury trial.
Named as defendants in the lawsuit are officers Ward, Thornton, the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas and Deputy Police Chief Michael York, who was the interim chief at the time.
Nancy Chartrand, a spokeswoman for the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department, said in a statement Wednesday that the shooting was reviewed by the Topeka Police Department and the KCKPD Internal Affairs Division. She said the Wyandotte County District Attorney’s Office declined to file charges against the officers after receiving that report.
A spokesperson for the UG did not reply to The Star’s request for comment on Wednesday.
According to earlier statements by police, two officers were performing a check on a parking lot at the Terrace Pointe apartment complex in the 600 block of South 71st Terrace on May 25, 2020. There they found a vehicle that was reported stolen out of Leavenworth.
During that investigation, the officers were reportedly approached by a tenant who told them of an armed disturbance happening nearby. The suspect, later identified as Brunson, was later seen entering the vehicle police had been investigating and allegedly trying to flee the area.
Police said at the time that they used a Taser to try to stop Brunson but it was not effective. Both officers fired weapons at the vehicle after police said Brunson was driving toward one of them.
Brunson was arrested after he fled on foot and the officers used a Taser again.
The civil complaint filed Tuesday challenges several aspects of the initial police narrative. It also claims the officers violated department policy by not wearing their body cameras.
Brunson contends that he was unaware the vehicle was stolen and only had access to it because he was hired to clean the truck. He says in the civil complaint that he was inside the vehicle when one of the officers told him not to move the truck. He only hit the gas pedal after the other officer ran up and used a Taser, the complaint says.
The complaint also says findings from the Kansas Bureau of Investigation show the officers must have been 20 or 30 feet away when they opened fire on the vehicle and the officers were not in its path, as police had reported.
A total 20 bullets were fired toward Brunson by the officers, the complaint says, four of which struck Brunson. The lawsuit says others nearly struck a woman who was holding a toddler nearby.
Following the police shooting, Brunson was charged in Wyandotte County District Court with possession of a weapon by a felon, possession of stolen property and interference with law enforcement officers, all felonies. Records show the charges were later dismissed by prosecutors.
The lawsuit contends the officers violated Brunson’s constitutional rights by using excessive force. It also says the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas failed to properly train the officers and were “recklessly indifferent” to the constitutional violations.
This story was originally published May 25, 2022 at 9:58 AM.
