Former Independence cop, accused of shoving man, shocking motorcyclist, gets probation
A former Independence police officer was sentenced to five years of probation after he allegedly shoved a bystander to the ground during a police response and shot a motorcyclist with a Taser without warning in April 2023.
Drew Wurtz, 26, pleaded guilty to a deprivation of rights charge, a felony, in U.S. District Court in Kansas City in June. He was sentenced Friday.
A spokeswoman for the Independence Police Department told The Star in June that Wurtz had not been an employee with the agency since July 2023.
As part of a plea agreement, federal prosecutors agreed to seek a sentence of probation, noting in court documents that Wurtz now has a felony record, had to surrender his law enforcement certification and wouldn’t be able to work in law enforcement again. Prosecutors said both victims were consulted and agreed with the recommendation of a probation sentence.
“While the nature and circumstances of the defendant’s offenses are serious and concerning, thankfully neither victim was seriously injured, and the defendant has no history or characteristic of similar conduct in his past,” prosecutors wrote in court documents.
Wurtz’s attorney, Dawn Parsons, did not respond to a request for comment.
One of the incidents occurred April 9, 2023, as Wurtz was working a police response at an apartment complex on Larkspur Lane. A bystander saw the police presence and approached with a plastic cup of wine in his hand, and Wurtz told him to go inside or move, prosecutors said.
The victim said he would stand aside and told Wurtz “that he did not need to have an attitude about it,” court documents said. “The two continued to exchange words until (Wurtz) approached (the victim), knocked the wine cup out of (the victim’s) hand, and immediately shoved him forcefully to the ground.”
“The defendant understood at the time that (the victim) was posing no threat to the defendant or anyone else, and that there was no legitimate law enforcement purpose that would have justified the use of force by the defendant against (the victim),” said plea agreement documents, which were signed by Wurtz.
The charge Wurtz pleaded guilty to relates specifically to the April 9 incident, but court documents also describe allegations from a separate victim and an incident that occurred the day before, April 8, 2023.
Wurtz was on a routine patrol with his partner when they spotted a motorcycle they believed might be stolen, and they followed without lights or sirens activated, according to court documents.
“At some point (Wurtz) asked his partner, who was driving, to get close to the motorcyclist as he was going to tase him,” court documents said. “The officers pulled up next to the motorcyclist at an intersection and (Wurtz) extended his arm out of his lowered window and deployed his taser striking the motorcyclist who accelerated and drove away from the officers.”
The motorcyclist later told FBI agents that he had been riding on a recently purchased motorcycle and didn’t have a license plate yet, so he had been carrying purchase paperwork.
While riding that day, he watched as an Independence police vehicle followed him through several turns without activating its lights or sirens. After he pulled up to a stop sign and accelerated away to 15-20 mph, he felt a jolt of electricity through his body and pain in his back, according to court documents.
“(The motorcyclist) said he felt his left side begin to tense up and his right hand jerked the throttle causing him to become unstable but that he ultimately was able to maintain control,” court documents said. “(He) said he was scared so he accelerated and went straight home.”
His fiancee removed the Taser probes after he returned home, and the man provided them and photos of his injuries to the FBI.
