Ex-officer charged in Northland Walmart shooting sued KCPD alleging excessive force
A Kansas City man charged with murder in a fatal shooting near a Northland Walmart Supercenter this week is involved in an ongoing federal lawsuit against the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners and a former officer with the Kansas City Police Department, according to court documents.
Taquiza V. Johnson, 47, was charged Thursday with second-degree murder and armed criminal action in the death of 71-year-old Ronald Barnett.
Johnson allegedly shot Barnett outside his car shortly after leaving the Walmart Supercenter. Police think the shooting stemmed from an interaction between the two while Barnett was entering the parking lot, according to court documents.
In a civil rights lawsuit filed in 2023 in U.S. District Court, Western District of Missouri, Johnson accuses former Kansas City police officer Jonathan Lenz of excessive force, unlawful detention and other civil rights violations.
According to the lawsuit, Lenz was off duty and not in uniform when he encountered Johnson on Oct. 19, 2020, in the 300 block of Northwest 110th Terrace in Kansas City, according to the lawsuit.
Johnson, working as a self-employed repair person, was in the area to do work at a customer’s home on Northwest 110th Terrace, court records indicate. He performed repairs based out of Leawood, operating under the company name of Getit2gether Repair.
Johnson initially knocked on the door of the wrong house, according to the lawsuit. The owner of the correct house then came outside and informed Johnson that he was at the wrong residence, according to the lawsuit.
After Johnson performed the repair and left, he was approached by Lenz, who lived on the same block, according to court documents. At the time, Lenz was off duty and in plain clothes, Johnson alleges in the lawsuit.
Lenz, who was in a police vehicle, got out of the cruiser with his service weapon drawn and a commemorative police badge around his neck, the lawsuit alleges. According to the lawsuit, Lenz told Johnson that he had been responding to a 911 call reporting a prowler or burglar in the area.
Johnson was then detained by Lenz and other on-duty police officers, with Lenz keeping his gun drawn for more than 10 minutes, the lawsuit alleges.
Johnson alleges that Lenz explicitly threatened him with deadly force.
“There was no probable cause or exigent circumstances for Johnson’s detention,” the lawsuit reads.
Reached Thursday, Edward Stump, one of the attorneys representing Johnson in the civil lawsuit, declined to comment on Thursday’s criminal charges against Johnson.
“These charges have no effect on our civil lawsuit,” Stump said.
The Kansas City Office of Community Complaints investigated the allegations against Lenz after Johnson filed a complaint. In June 2021, the office determined that Johnson’s complaints held merit, writing that disciplinary action would be taken against Lenz.
Last week, mediation was held in Johnson’s lawsuit, according to Stump. Johnson is seeking $1 million in damages and has demanded a jury trial, according to the lawsuit.
A spokesman for the Kansas City Police Department confirmed Thursday that Lenz was no longer employed by the agency.
This story was originally published August 22, 2024 at 7:14 PM.
