Video shows Kansas City, Kansas, police officer asleep in car in turn lane, man says
A Facebook Live video posted Thursday morning showed a Kansas City, Kansas, police officer asleep in his patrol car in a turn lane, according to the man who filmed it.
Later in the day, the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department said it was aware of a Facebook video involving one of its officers. But police declined to comment further because the incident was being “addressed as an administrative investigation.”
In the man’s nine-minute video, he said he was on his way to work when he saw a Kansas City, Kansas, police vehicle parked in a turn lane near Legends Outlets. Its lights were off.
The man pulled his vehicle up near the police car, telling his viewers he could back up in the road because the officer was asleep.
“I can illegally make a U-turn,” he said. “He ain’t going to be able to see nothing.”
The man turned his car around, pulling up next to the squad car. He later honked, seeming to wake up the officer. The man told the officer he saw him sleeping, and the officer appeared to say he was waiting for someone.
“Cars been pulling all behind you, stopping, going around you and all that kind of stuff,” the man responded.
By Thursday afternoon, the video had been shared more than 300 times and viewed by nearly 6,000 people.
In a statement, the police department said it encouraged citizens to report any possible officer misconduct by calling its hotline at 913-573-6373 or its Internal Affairs Office at 913-573-6370.
In a recent discrimination lawsuit filed against the department, an officer said sleeping on the job was a “common occurrence” among her colleagues. That officer said she has turned in video before of a sergeant asleep at work.
This story was originally published January 16, 2020 at 3:04 PM.
