KC corrections officers repeatedly strike shackled detainee; officers put on unpaid leave
Two Kansas City correctional officers have been put on unpaid leave after surveillance cameras captured footage of a man in custody being struck repeatedly as he was handcuffed and shackled in a wheelchair.
Videos taken from inside Kansas City’s downtown Municipal Court building show a sequence of events that apparently began with a struggle in a restricted hallway. In them, a man is seen pulling away from and resisting officers before he is slowly brought to the ground.
The man is then restrained on the hallway floor as handcuffs and leg shackles are brought out and put on him. Near the end of that confrontation, as he is being carried away, the man appears to kick one of the city’s correctional officers in the backside and is forcefully taken down.
While on the ground again, two officers appear to strike the man, including with kicks, briefly before he is dragged down the hall by the chain between his ankles.
In another clip, taken in a holding transportation area dubbed Inmate Tunnel 1, the man is seen being pushed through a caged area in a wheelchair. After turning a corner, one officer appears to address him verbally before dousing him with pepper spray.
She then strikes him from behind several times as one of the officers pushing the wheelchair goes around to the front and also strikes him in rapid succession.
Others are seen intervening to break up the melee as the man appears to bring his handcuffed hands up to block the hits.
According to the city, the man declined medical care that was offered to him afterward.
Mayor Quinton Lucas released the videos and a statement through his office late Friday afternoon. His office said the disclosure was meant as a show of transparency.
In the statement, the mayor’s office says city leaders became aware of the incident, which occurred late last week, on Thursday. It happened after the detainee spit on and kicked officers, according to the office.
“No matter the provocation, I am disturbed by the behavior displayed by two corrections officers toward a City detainee,” the mayor said “The officers were immediately placed on unpaid administrative leave and we have referred the incident to the Kansas City Police Department for a thorough investigation.”
“These are difficult jobs and I thank the corrections officers and Kansas City police officers who intervened to protect the detainee and their fellow corrections officers,” he added.
The city did not name any of the people involved. The statement from the mayor was the only official comment provided from the city on Friday.
Capt. Corey Carlise, a KCPD spokesman, said Friday the department’s assault unit was handling the investigation. He said it was reported to KCPD on Tuesday.
Carlisle declined to share other details requested by The Star, including an incident report, citing an ongoing investigation.
At the time of the incident, according to the mayor’s office, the man was being transported to the Vernon County jail, one of two in Missouri that hold people arrested on alleged municipal offenses. The city has relied on Vernon County to house its inmates since 2019.
The videos shared Friday caught the attention of civil rights activists, including Kansas City’s Metro Organization for Racial and Economic Equity, or MORE2.
“We are dismayed to see yet another occurrence of brutality at the hands of those entrusted with all of our safety,” Lora McDonald, the organization’s executive director, said Friday.
McDonald questioned whether Kansas City police should be the agency tasked to investigate the incident, saying her organization believes an outside review would be more appropriate.
She also called on city leaders to keep the community informed of developments.
This story was originally published September 29, 2023 at 5:48 PM.
