Prosecutors decline charges for Raytown cop who fatally shot Grandview man
Jackson County prosecutors announced Friday they would not charge a Raytown police officer who fatally shot a Grandview man as that man approached his vehicle at a gas station last year.
Speaking with the media minutes after meeting with prosecutors Friday, family members of Kenneth Williams Jr., 32, said they had watched video of the shooting and called it a “public execution.”
Williams’ mother, Cecelia Wilson, said, “My son did not deserve what I just heard and saw.”
Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson’s office said in a statement Friday that Williams had made threats about having explosives in his vehicle while inside the QuikTrip at 8733 East 63rd Street in Raytown shortly before the fatal shooting on Nov. 9. Williams left the scene, returned, saw the police presence and began to run toward his vehicle, prosecutors said, adding that police gave commands for him to stop approaching the vehicle.
Law enforcement said previously the officer shot Williams as he was getting in his vehicle.
“Based on the available evidence, we found that the shooting officer reasonably believed there was imminent danger to himself and others, given there were prior statements from the citizen who said he had explosives in his vehicle and had threatened to blow the gas station up,” prosecutors said in their statement.
The statement continued: “Based on these circumstances, including the citizen’s prior threats, his running toward the vehicle containing explosives that were later recovered, and his failure to comply with commands, the officer’s actions fall within the legal standards in Missouri for use of force. We also could not disprove beyond a reasonable doubt that the officer who fired acted unreasonably.
“As such, we are declining charges.”
Raytown police did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday afternoon.
LaTasha Crawford, Williams’ sister, said she had been told there was an “improvised explosive device” that was found in her brother’s vehicle.
“To me, they were fireworks and also cleaning equipment,” she said.
“My brother is not a terrorist, and yet he was treated as one,” she added, saying that the officer fired “quickly” before her brother could understand any threat in the area or be detained. He was going to his vehicle to go home, she said.
“This video looked like a public execution by one officer who acted as the jury, the judge and the executioner,” Crawford said. “That is not OK.”
Police were called to the gas station after a confrontation between Williams and a private security officer, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said in a statement after the shooting.
Police were told Williams had made threats of having explosives and firearms in his vehicle, which was parked in the parking lot, and the Kansas City Police Department’s Bomb Squad was called in to investigate, law enforcement said.
While law enforcement was waiting for the bomb squad, Williams returned to the area and, as he began to enter his vehicle, a Raytown officer shot him after police gave him commands, the highway patrol said. Williams was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Loved ones have described Williams as a man of faith, an entrepreneur and a family man. Williams ran a carpet-cleaning business and worked “24/7,” said Wilson, his mother.
During a press conference Friday, Steve Young, one of the founders of KC LEAP, the Kansas City Law Enforcement Accountability Project, said, “I’ll be honest, I hate standing here with another family who has to bury their loved one because of police violence.”
“This is happening way too often, and it’s not normal,” he said. “It’s not acceptable. Black men are not given the patience, the dignity or the humanity afforded to others. It’s far too easy for police to take our lives and far too easy for the system to shrug and move on.”
This story was originally published October 3, 2025 at 3:33 PM.
