Prosecutors decline to charge Grandview officers who killed suicidal teen with BB gun
Prosecutors this month declined to file criminal charges against the Grandview police officers who last year fatally shot a suicidal teenager who pointed a BB gun at them.
In a Jan. 7 letter, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said her Use of Force Committee determined the officers’ deadly force was “objectively reasonable” when they shot 17-year-old Lantz Stephenson Jr. multiple times May 16 at Meadowmere Park.
“It is always unfortunate and tragic when officers are faced with life and death decisions that result in death of one of any community members,” Baker wrote, adding that it is “doubly tragic” when the person killed is so young.
She said, however, that the officers’ actions “were within the scope of their legal authority as law enforcement officers in the state of Missouri.”
Baker’s letter provides the most detailed public account of the shooting, which again raised questions about whether armed officers are the appropriate actors to respond to residents who are in the midst of a mental health crisis.
Shortly after 6:20 a.m. on May 16, Stephenson took an Uber to the park in the 13600 block of Byars Road. Dispatchers sent officers there at 6:33 a.m. and told them a male had called and said he was dressed in black, had a gun and wanted to get in a “shoot out” with police, according to Baker’s letter. An arriving officer saw Stephenson, who started walking toward them.
A sergeant who arrived told the officers not to approach Stephenson. One officer looked through binoculars while another, who took cover behind a patrol car door, spoke to him through a microphone.
“Let me see your hands!” the officer said.
Stephenson raised his right hand and reached into his jacket pocket with his left to pull out what looked like a black handgun, one of the officers later said. Stephenson pointed the weapon in their direction, Baker’s letter stated.
Two officers put on ballistic vests. A third officer responded to the scene. One of the officers was armed with a bean bag rifle, but later said it was not an option to use because Stephenson was too far away from them, according to Baker’s letter.
Over the microphone, an officer told Stephenson to drop the gun, but he shook his head to indicate that he would not, Baker wrote. He kept “advancing” with the BB gun raised. An officer fired once, but Stephenson kept pointing it at them. Additional shots were fired until the teenager fell to the ground, according to the letter, which drew in part on the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s investigation.
Stephenson complied with commands and rolled away from the weapon. As an officer began CPR on him, Stephenson said, “Kill me. Kill me,” according to investigators. Another officer used the teenager’s belt as a tourniquet.
Paramedics arrived at 6:45 a.m. and asked Stephenson if he was attempting suicide. He nodded that he was, the letter stated. He later died during surgery at a hospital.
A handwritten note found in Stephenson’s pocket gave his name and address, according to the letter.
“The only other content on this handwritten note was a line that stated, ‘where I live,’” Baker wrote. “’Live’ was crossed out and ‘lived’ was written on the note.”
Michael Mansur, a spokesman for the prosecutor’s office, has said Stephenson carried a Glock 19 BB pistol equipped with a slide that “reportedly looked like a firearm.” They often use air pressure to fire small metal balls called BBs.
An attorney representing the Stephenson family could not be reached for comment.
In asking for help with funeral expenses on GoFundMe, Stephenson’s family said he finished high school early and was just beginning “a beautiful life.”
Grandview police have said the officers had crisis intervention training, but in the wake of the shooting, police accountability and mental health experts questioned if the training was enough. In addition to de-escalation techniques taught during the department’s annual training, the responding officers had each completed at least 40 hours of crisis intervention training.
“That’s about the same amount of time that Starbucks trains a barista to make coffee,” Shawn McDaniel, a Kansas City-based licensed psychologist specialized in assessment and behavioral treatment, told The Star last year. “That’s hardly enough training to expect somebody to effectively deal with a suicidal person.”
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline can be reached at 800-273-8255. The Crisis Text Line also provides emotional crisis support and can be reached by texting HELLO to 741741.
