Jury awards $6.5M to KC man nearly killed in Taser incident with Independence police
A federal court jury in Kansas City has awarded $6.5 million to a man who endured a near-fatal encounter with an Independence police officer in 2014.
The jury returned its verdict Friday in U.S. District Court in Kansas City after a week-long trial in the lawsuit brought by Bryce Masters against the former officer, Timothy Runnels.
The jury assessed $5 million in compensatory damages and $1.5 million in punitive damages. It’s unclear if the city of Independence will have to help pay any of the $6.5 million total.
“Today the jury sent a clear message to law enforcement that excessive force will not be tolerated,” Masters’ attorney, Kirk Presley said in a statement Friday. “This verdict upholds the constitutional provisions that protect us all from the abuse of power. As a result of this verdict, the Masters family can now truly begin to heal.”
Runnels’ attorney, Keith A. Cutler, said in a statement to The Star that “the jury’s determination of damages was higher than what the evidence that was actually presented at trial supported.”
Masters was 17 in 2014 when Runnels pulled him over for a traffic stop.
The incident was captured on dash cam video.
When Masters refused to get out of the car, Runnels tried to pull him out, then shot him with a Taser.
The barbs of the Taser hit Masters in the torso. Runnels deployed the weapon for 20 seconds before releasing the trigger.
Masters was left unresponsive on the ground. The officer dragged him out of the road before dropping him face first onto the pavement. Masters could not break his fall because his arms were handcuffed behind his back.
According to court testimony and documents, Masters went into cardiac arrest and would likely have died if not for prompt emergency medical intervention.
Federal prosecutors later charged Runnels criminally with violating Masters’ civil rights, and the former officer was sentenced in 2016 to four years in prison.
Runnels, 35, is scheduled to be released from custody in January 2020, according to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.
This story was originally published December 14, 2018 at 2:34 PM.
