‘Honk for Peace’ activist accuses 2 KCPD officers of excessive force in civil lawsuit
Two Kansas City Police Department officers currently facing felony assault charges over a widely criticized arrest are now accused of using excessive force during a separate encounter with a local community activist, according to a civil lawsuit filed Tuesday.
KCPD Officers Charles Prichard and Matthew Brummett are accused of assaulting Troy Robertson, the leader of several community activism initiatives, in August 2019. The suit alleges the officers injured Robertson to a point where he now suffers from seizures and post-traumatic stress, according to the civil complaint filed in Jackson County Court.
The lawsuit seeks $5 million in damages. Officer Donna Drake, a department spokeswoman, said in a statement Tuesday that KCPD generally does not comment on pending civil lawsuits “to ensure fairness for all sides involved.”
In the civil complaint, Robertson alleges he was on the southwest corner of 35th Street and Prospect Avenue holding a sign with the message “Honk for JJ” when the officers stopped at a red light and Robertson approached their car asking them to honk in support. After telling him to get out of the street, the lawsuit said, the officers got out of their car, threw Robertson on the hood, handcuffed him, struck him several times and knelt on him while he was on the ground.
Robertson said he was not breaking any laws at the time and protesting in a peaceful manner, according to the lawsuit.
The incident was captured by a nearby gas station’s surveillance video, the lawsuit alleges. The officers are further accused of harassing and intimidating Robertson several times since 2015.
“This is another example of these two police officers acting far outside their authority and beating up and assaulting peaceful citizens,” said James Walker, the attorney representing Robertson in the lawsuit. “It’s outrageous that they would attack and brutalize this man who was doing nothing but peacefully holding a sign up.”
The officers, Prichard and Brummett, pleaded not guilty last year in a separate incident alleging felony assault in the arrest of Breona Hill that occurred outside of a beauty supply store in 2019. Video of that arrest showed Hill’s face being smashed into a concrete sidewalk twice and an officer kneeling on her neck or shoulder area, according to court records.
Prichard and Brummett were placed on administrative assignment while the Hill case is ongoing, Kansas City Police Chief Rick Smith said in a statement at the time. The officers maintained that their use of force was justified.
Two additional civil lawsuits have been brought against the officers related to Hill’s arrest. Both are on hold pending the outcome of the criminal case.
The Star’s Katie Bernard contributed to this report.
This story was originally published March 30, 2021 at 9:01 PM.
