Kansas City pastors give video from fatal police shooting to Missouri Highway Patrol
A group of ministers on Wednesday afternoon handed over to the Missouri Highway Patrol a surveillance video they say captures the moments that led up to the fatal police shooting of Malcolm Johnson on March 25.
The faith leaders, including Darron Edwards of United Believers Community Church, the Rev. Emanuel Cleaver III, senior pastor of St. James United Methodist Church and Ronald Lindsay of Concord Fortress of Hope Church, met with highway patrol officials at the patrol’s regional headquarters in Lee’s Summit.
That meeting came after the ministers on Tuesday had released the video to the public and said is contradicted the patrol’s account of the shooting. The ministers had demanded the four Kansas City police officers involved in the shooting be fired and face criminal charges.
On Wednesday, the group met with highway patrol investigators for nearly two hours and delivered the surveillance video. Edwards said they did not discuss details of the shooting because the investigation remains open.
“We believe that it will be a very integral process, a process of compassion, a process that will get to the right outcomes based upon the process that we have heard,” said Edwards, who launched Getting to the Heart of the Matter, a collaborative with police designed to foster better relations with the community and reduce crime.
”We talked about process over personality. We talked about policy, we talked about reform,” Edwards said afterward. “We talked about keeping the process with integrity and compassion to all families involved and to make sure that compassion is encouraged throughout.”
Police shooting
The highway patrol has been in charge of the investigation since Johnson, 31, was shot and killed by a police officer in the gas station at 63rd Street and Prospect Avenue.
At the time of the shooting, the patrol said officers were arresting Johnson in connection with a previous shooting. The patrol said there was a struggle and Johnson shot an officer in the leg before the wounded officer shot and killed him.
On Tuesday, the group had said their attempts to speak with the highway patrol and hand over the surveillance video were rejected.
Edwards said his mood had changed on Wednesday after they met with the highway patrol.
“We believe from the conversation that this investigation is in the best possible hands at this time,” he said.
The pastors on Tuesday also said they had met briefly with Police Chief Rick Smith, who declined to see the video or discuss the shooting with them.
Surveillance video
The video does not show the shooting itself. But the faith leaders said it, and other facts surrounding the shooting, showed the initial account given by the highway patrol was not accurate.
In the video, a man, who faith leaders said was Johnson, is seen standing at the counter. He scratches off a lottery ticket, then passes it to the store clerk.
He then turns around as the two officers in uniform appear to grab his arms, their guns drawn. The man looks like he breaks free briefly, takes a few steps forward, as if he’s trying to run, before the video shows what appears to be the officers pulling him away from the gas station door.
The struggle between the officers and the man continues as food items stocked on shelves are kicked on the floor.
Two more officers enter the store and try to help restrain the man, according to the video. The camera angle only shows the man’s feet as he continues to struggle with the officers.
The man and officers remain mostly out of the camera’s view, their feet still visible, for about 80 seconds before the video shows what appears to be an officers who is wounded in the leg being rushed out of the store by the other officers.
Johnson was later taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
This story was originally published June 2, 2021 at 3:22 PM.
