Deputy’s shooting of Lee’s Summit teen was ‘completely unjustified,’ attorney says
A Chicago law firm representing the family of Saveion McConnell, a 19-year-old from Lee’s Summit who was fatally shot by a Lafayette County sheriff’s deputy earlier this month, said the shooting appeared to be “completely unjustified.”
In a statement Thursday, the firm, Romanucci and Blandin, said it was investigating the May 1 shooting near Pittsville, in Johnson County, Missouri. The firm said McConnell had been unarmed when the deputy struck him with his patrol vehicle and then shot him multiple times.
“Saveion should be alive today,” Joshua Levin, an attorney for McConnell’s family, said in a statement. “Based on the facts we know so far, the deputy’s use of deadly force appears completely unjustified. Saveion was an unarmed teenager. The deputy struck Saveion with his police car — using his vehicle as a weapon — moments before shooting Saveion to death. We do not believe Saveion posed any imminent threat that would have justified the use of deadly force.”
The firm did not announce a lawsuit, but Levin said the firm would work with the “goal of holding those responsible accountable.”
The firm asked anyone with information about this incident to call 312-458-1000 or email intakes@rblaw.net.
Deputy shot Lee’s Summit teen
The Missouri State Highway Patrol is investigating the law enforcement shooting, which happened at about 4 a.m. along U.S. Highway 50 in Johnson County, Missouri. Law enforcement said McConnell had fled from the scene of a shooting about two hours earlier along the highway about four miles east, in which a 17-year-old girl was injured. McConnell’s family has said witnesses indicated the shooting was accidental.
The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, which is investigating the shooting of the 17-year-old, later said the girl had been treated and released from a hospital. A spokesman for the sheriff’s office did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment Thursday.
The patrol said the Lafayette County deputy, a Johnson County deputy and an Odessa police officer responded to a report of two men who were walking near the highway and said one of them “matched the description” of the suspect from the earlier shooting. Law enforcement chased after the suspect, McConnell, and the Lafayette County deputy shot him.
Statements from teen’s mother, highway patrol
Sgt. Justin Ewing, a spokesman for the highway patrol, said an investigation was ongoing and would eventually be forwarded to the Johnson County Prosecutor’s Office for review.
In a statement released by the law firm, Michelle Washington, McConnell’s mother, said her family was heartbroken by McConnell’s death and said he had been taken from the family far too soon.
“Saveion was pursuing trade programs and exploring college opportunities, with so much life still ahead of him,” she said.
“He will never have the chance to get married or have children of his own because his life was senselessly cut short. He was loved by hundreds and always will be and is deeply missed throughout our community and family.”
