Kansas City police will pay $5 million to family of man fatally shot by officer
The Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners has reached a $5 million agreement to settle a lawsuit filed by the family of Terrence Bridges Jr., who was fatally shot following an altercation with an officer in May 2019.
Bridges, 30, was shot and killed after officers responded to a reported carjacking in the 7000 block of Bellefontaine Avenue.
The police board approved the agreement — one of the largest the department has ever paid out — in a closed meeting earlier this week. Tom Porto, an attorney representing the family, said in a statement that the civil lawsuit had been resolved.
“This agreement represents the police department’s acknowledgment of the tragic and significant loss to the family of Terrence Bridges that this incident caused,” Porto said. “Despite this tragedy, we recognize that police officers have difficult jobs and are frequently faced with making split-second life or death decisions.
“The family is grateful that they are now able to put this matter behind them.”
The department had maintained that Bridges was a suspect in a carjacking and that officers had responded to reports that Bridges forced his way into a home, engaged a man in an armed confrontation and then took the man’s vehicle.
Arriving officers contacted the 911 caller and determined that an armed encounter had occurred between Bridges and the caller. While investigating the incident, Bridges returned to the home, police said.
According to police reports, Bridges ran when the officer at the scene tried to arrest him. The officer shot Bridges shortly after catching up with him south of the home.
Police had said Bridges resisted arrest and an officer shot him during a struggle. Dylan Pifer was identified as the officer who fatally shot Bridges.
However, the family had maintained that Bridges did not pose a threat to Pifer, was not armed when he was shot and was not involved in a carjacking.
Hours after the shooting, Pifer told a pair of detectives that he shot Bridges because he thought he was pulling a gun out of a sweatshirt pocket. The men were standing about two feet apart, he said.
“I was scared for my life,” Pifer said.
An audio recording recorded a gunshot before Pifer asked Bridges, “Why’d you attack me, dude?”
“I didn’t attack you,” Bridges answered. He was suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest and later died.
Pifer was not charged in the killing. He remains employed with KCPD and is assigned to the patrol bureau.
“We take all incidents like this to heart,” Sgt. Jacob Becchina, a police spokesman, said in a written statement. “KCPD routinely trains on handling tense and rapidly evolving situations, especially those involving domestic violence.
“The KCPD is sorry for the pain felt by Terrence Bridges’ family. We are pleased everyone was able to come to a mutually agreeable resolution.”
Community activists and faith leaders have criticized the department for its handling of officers accused of shooting Black residents and using excessive force.
“The fact of the matter is Dylan Pifer should have been prosecuted for killing Terrence Bridges,” said Gwen Grant, president/CEO of the Urban League of Greater Kansas City. “It is unconscionable to me that he is still employed by KCPD and we, the taxpayers, are paying the cost for his crime.”
Grant continued: “The Board of Police Commissioners continues to operate under a veil of secrecy that is disrespectful and harmful to our community. Their behavior, this settlement, Dylan Pifer killing an unarmed Black man with impunity are all reasons we need local control of our police department.”
In a lawsuit filed by Rotonya McGee, Bridges’ mother, the officer was identified as John Doe.
After the shooting, McGee later said, she was not allowed to identify her son’s body. She was told by police that Bridges had already been identified.
McGee said she felt disrespected by police and the only time she was able to see her son’s body was at his funeral.
The killing of Bridges was one of several fatal KCPD officer-involved shootings that was highlighted during protests against police brutality that were held on the Country Club Plaza and other locations throughout Kansas City during the summer of 2020.
“No amount of money will heal this family yet we are glad that this settlement has been reached so Mr. Bridges’ young children will be cared for financially,” said Lora McDonald, executive director of the Metro Organization for Racial and Economic Equity (MORE2).
“We continue to be dismayed that the department hasn’t held Dylan Pifer accountable for killing Mr. Bridges or the injury of a teenager six months later.”
In that incident, Pifer was with another officer, Sgt. Matthew T. Neal, as Neal slammed the face of a 15-year-old boy into the pavement, breaking two of his teeth and gashing his face.
The Kansas City police commissioners agreed to pay $725,000 to settle the excessive use of force lawsuit. No criminal charges were brought against Pifer in that case.
However, Neal pleaded guilty last week to third-degree assault and was placed on four years probation. Neal, who is no longer with the police department, was ordered to surrender his law enforcement license, take an anger management class and write an apology to the victim.
Along with the Bridges settlement, KCPD has paid at least $8.3 million so far this year to settle lawsuits or excessive use of force claims filed by victims or their families.
Earlier this week, a Jackson County judge approved a $500,000 settlement to the parents of a man who was tackled by a KCPD officer and later died.
This story was originally published November 3, 2022 at 10:09 AM.
