Woman charged after Lee’s Summit officer dragged during shoplifting call
A 36-year-old Kansas City woman was charged after she allegedly dragged a Lee’s Summit police officer responding to a reported shoplifting in the Summit Woods Crossing shopping center over the weekend.
The Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office charged Heather M. Burnam with one count of second-degree assault of a special victim and aggravated fleeing a stop or arrest that resulted in injury to the officer. Burnam was being held on Wednesday in the Jackson County Detention Center on a $75,000 bond.
According to court documents, a loss prevention officer at Target in the shopping center on Northwest Chipman Road called police about 3:35 p.m. Saturday to report a theft. The worker, who knew Burnam from prior incidents, told police that Burnam had exited the store with stolen merchandise, about $200 worth of clothing, and then drove to the nearby Best Buy.
The officer responded to Best Buy to investigate. There he located a Jeep SUV parked in the handicap spot near the front of the store. The officer checked the license plate, which was a Kansas temporary tag, and discovered it was registered to Burnam on a 2006 Jeep Commander.
Seconds later, video from Best Buy surveillance cameras and the officer's body-worn camera, allegedly shows him trying to stop Burnam. She allegedly managed to get into her Jeep, started it and reversed rapidly through the parking lot, dragging the officer, who was trapped between the driver-side door and the B-pillar of the SUV.
The Jeep jumped a curb. The officer was struck by the curb and was dislodged from Burnam’s SUV. Burnam then allegedly drove through the parking lot. Meanwhile, the officer was face down on his stomach on the sidewalk, requesting assistance over the radio.
The officer was taken to a hospital for treatment of cuts and abrasions to both hands and legs. The injured officer also had a mark on his back and had pain in his back, hands and legs. A bruise was forming on his back from where the door and weight of the car had pinned him against the ground as it went over him, according to court documents, in the area where he was experiencing the most pain.
After assisting the injured officer until emergency medical crews arrived, a responding officer contacted the manager at Best Buy. The manager reported that Burnam allegedly stole a $400 Kenwood car stereo.
If convicted, Burnam faces up to 15 years on each charge.
The Star’s Nathan Pilling provided information for this story.
