Prosecutors reviewing after teen says he was repeatedly punched, tased by KC officers
Jackson County prosecutors are reviewing for possible criminal charges a 2019 incident in which Kansas City police officers allegedly punched and tased a teenager.
Mike Mansur, a spokesman for the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office, confirmed Thursday that prosecutors are weighing whether to charge the officers who, according to a lawsuit, tackled a 17-year-old boy to the ground and punched him more than 10 times. Mansur declined to provide further details, including how many officers are under review.
The Star reported Wednesday that the teenager, who is Black, was awarded $325,000 after he sued the department over the Oct. 12, 2019, incident near East 63rd Street and Troost Avenue, claiming excessive force.
“You just beat me up,” the teen said during the incident, according to a dashcam recording cited in the lawsuit. “You just punched me. Help me. Help. Help. Help.”
The teenager, who was a senior, had been waiting to pick up friends from Hogan Preparatory Academy’s homecoming dance and parked at a nearby O’Reilly Auto Parts store.
Officers Blayne Newton and Jacob Dee passed through the parking lot, doubled back and activated their emergency lights, according to the teen’s lawsuit. When Newton ordered the teenager out of the vehicle, he asked what he did wrong.
The two officers then grabbed the teenager, who got out of the vehicle and told them, “I am not resisting,” his lawyer wrote. Dee allegedly grabbed the teen by the shirt collar and neck and tackled him to the ground.
In the video, the teenager can be heard screaming, “Why are you punching me?” according to his lawsuit. He continued yelling for help while both officers were on top of him. Dee punched him at least 10 more times, he alleged in the petition.
Another officer, Shantasa Murray, appeared in the camera. The teen was still on the ground when Newton told Murray to tase the teen, according to the lawsuit. A stun gun was heard in the video and Murray allegedly told the teen, “You are going to get it again.”
The teenager suffered injuries to his head, mouth, ribs, knee and legs, as well as emotional distress. His lawyer declined to comment Thursday.
Before the encounter, the teenager had wanted to become a canine police officer, but “no longer wishes to pursue that dream,” according to his lawsuit. He is now a college sophomore in a neighboring state.
The lawsuit also alleged that Officers Dee and Newton had no legal authority to stop the teen for being in the parking lot on private property. Dee falsely reported that the teen resisted arrest and tried to conceal a firearm, the lawsuit said.
Capt. Leslie Foreman, a spokeswoman for the Kansas City Police Department, said the department turned its investigation over to the prosecutor’s office for review. Foreman said KCPD could not release the dashboard camera footage because of the pending review.
Murray and Newton are assigned to KCPD’s patrol bureau. Dee is no longer with the department.
Newton, who has been with KCPD since January 2017, has been criticized by community activists for his involvement in two others cases: the 2020 fatal shooting of Donnie Sanders, a Black man who Newton said he thought had a gun but was unarmed, and the arrest of Deja Stallings, who was nine months pregnant.
Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker has said there was not sufficient evidence to charge Newton in Sanders’ killing.
This story was originally published March 31, 2022 at 1:32 PM.
