Petition drive demands KC police release name of officer who fatally shot unarmed man
Kansas City police are continuing their internal investigation of an officer who fatally shot an unarmed man following a traffic stop Thursday, but local activists are demanding more accountability.
The officer involved in the shooting death of Donnie Sanders, 47, remains off duty and there was no timetable on when the officer might return to work, police said Wednesday.
“KCPD’s officer-involved shooting protocol places the officer on leave from duty for the course of the initial investigation and for psychological evaluation,” according to Kansas City police.
Sanders was fatally shot when he raised his arm “in a motion towards the officer as though he had a weapon,” a police spokesman said at the time. However, it turned out that Sanders was unarmed.
The shooting has prompted More2, a Kansas City interfaith social justice organization, to circulate an online petition demanding more transparency and accountability.
“Because of the recent history of Chief (Rick) Smith putting officers who have been shot and killed (civilians) back to work in a matter of days, the least we can do is demand any officer who shoots a person be identified publicly and benched until further investigation clears or indicts them,” the group said in its petition.
Kansas City Police said in an effort to protect officers’ safety, it is their practice not to name those officers involved in fatal shootings.
“It feels like community trust is no longer important to KCPD,” said Lora McDonald, the group’s executive director. “I would say that when they refuse to tell the public who did this, every officer becomes the potential shooter to the public.”
“If they didn’t do anything wrong, what do they need to be protected from,” McDonald said.
Police Chief Smith has not taken any action to respond to officer-involved shootings any differently than previous police chiefs as it relates to the investigative aspects, Capt. David Jackson, a police spokesman said Wednesday.
“We respect the right to post petitions and exercise their first amendment rights,” Jackson said in an email. “These are always emotional incidents that we take seriously.”
Jackson said because the investigation of the Sanders shooting remains open, they are only allowed to release limited information to the public.
“We will release the same information as we do in any other case,” he said.
No firearm
An officer attempted to pull Sanders over at about 11:15 p.m. Thursday near 51st and Prospect. He eventually pulled over between Prospect and Wabash avenues before allegedly running from the vehicle, police said.
Sanders then turned toward an officer and raised his arm in a motion toward the officer.
The officer ordered Sanders to drop the weapon and shot him when he did not comply, police said.
Sanders was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died. The officer was placed on administrative leave.
After processing the scene, police determined that Sanders did not have a firearm or weapon, police said.
McDonald said police officers must be held accountable for their actions.
“There’s a pattern of about a dozen officers having killed two or more people,” she said. “We want to know if that continues to be a pattern five years later. The only way we’ll know is for their names to be public.”
Greater transparency
Kansas City has recorded 48 homicides this year, according to data maintained by The Star. That includes four fatal police shootings.
McDonald said Kansas City officers who have fatally shot civilians seldom face criminal charges.
She pointed to Terrance M. Bridges, 30, who was shot and killed by an officer May 26 in the 7000 block of Bellefontaine Avenue in Kansas City. The shooting happened while the officer responded to a report of a domestic disturbance and carjacking.
Last December, a Jackson County grand jury declined to charge a Kansas City police officer who shot and killed Bridges.
“We mostly just want the broad community to know that this is happening, that officers are able to kill people, return to work in nine days or less and remain anonymous,” McDonald said.
This story was originally published March 19, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
