Civil rights case of Kansas City police who wrongly arrested, jailed teen starts Monday
Two Kansas City police officers who wrongly arrested a Black teenager in 2016 and placed him in juvenile detention for three weeks will stand trial Monday in his civil rights lawsuit.
The lawsuit brought by Tyree Bell’s family is set to start at the federal courthouse in downtown Kansas City. Bell, who was 15 at the time, was detained despite evidence of his innocence, his attorneys say.
Bell was jailed after officers Jonathan Munyan and Peter Neukirch said he matched the description of one of three Black teenagers showing off a firearm June 8, 2016, at East 91st Street and Marsh Avenue.
One of the teenagers there fled on foot and threw a gun over a fence. Less than 10 minutes later, an officer found Bell walking more than a mile away.
“He put me in the car and they high-fived each other,” Bell said of the officers, recalling his arrest in 2018. “I was shocked.”
In some ways, Bell matched the other teen’s description, but he showed no signs of having run in near 90 degree heat. He was jailed until a detective viewed dashcam footage — after numerous requests from his mother — and determined he was not the teen who fled.
The next year, Bell’s mother sued the officers, who are white, for unlawful arrest, negligent training and supervision, and deprivation of her son’s constitutional rights. In 2019, U.S. District Judge Greg Kays dismissed the lawsuit, ruling the officers were entitled to “qualified immunity,” which protects government officials from being sued unless there is a clear violation of constitutional rights.
But last year, an appeals court overturned Kays’ decision, setting up the trial starting this week. Police Chief Rick Smith and the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners are also listed as defendants.
Local faith leaders have repeatedly called for reforms of the Kansas City Police Department.
During protests in summer 2020, community groups called for Smith to resign or be removed. They cited a lack of confidence in Smith’s handling of fatal police shootings of Black men, and allegations of excessive use of force by police officers.
“Black lives matter,” Arthur Benson, an attorney for Bell, said in 2020. “Three weeks of an innocent child’s life stolen and jailed matter. When the Kansas City Police Department does not train its mostly white officers that all Blacks do not look alike it matters.”
In court filings, police have denied violating Bell’s constitutional rights or sitting on exonerating evidence.
This story was originally published October 4, 2021 at 9:59 AM.
