Two KC officers in viral pepper spray video had been in 2016 shootout that injured 7
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CRIME
Two KC officers in viral pepper spray video
had been in 2016 shootout that injured 7
BY ANNA SPOERRE
AUGUST 14, 2020 05:00 AM, UPDATED AUGUST 14, 2020 01:47 PM
A viral video captured a protester in Kansas City getting pepper sprayed in the face after yelling at police
and accusing them of overreacting with force. (Warning: Strong language) BY @ELISE_VILLA VIA TWITTER
Listen to this article now
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Two Kansas City police officers involved in the arrest of a protester in a viral video
this summer had participated in a 2016 shootout that left seven people injured,
according to police records.
The officers were identified this week as part of a lawsuit stemming from the May arrest of Tarence Maddox and the use of pepper spray against his daughter during a protest against police brutality at the County Club Plaza. The arrest was caught on video and drew national media attention. The Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office said it was reviewing the incident, while Kansas City Police Chief Rick Smith has defended the officers’ actions. Maddox, of Kansas City, Kansas, stood alongside hundreds of protesters at a May 30 demonstration following the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. “If you ain’t got the balls to protect the streets and protect and serve like you was paid to do, turn in your damn badge, but prematurely shooting people, prematurely using excessive force .... ” Maddox, 37, is heard saying in the video, to a group of police officers in helmets. Moments later, about six officers approached, sprayed Maddox and his daughter with pepper spray and took him into custody, the video shows. Maddox and his 15-year-old daughter filed a lawsuit Monday against officers Taylor Hall, James Oakes and a third officer listed in the suit as N. McQuillen. An arrest report of the incident recently obtained by The Star gives more details from the perspectives of Hall and Oakes of the moments before and after a bystander pressed record. The report also confirms that Hall and Oakes are the same officers who, nearly four years earlier, were involved in a police shooting on Kansas City’s east side. The shooting was detailed in Kansas City Police Department records that show a police board later determined their actions to be justified. “Those two officers were involved, along with numerous other officers in that active shooter situation as well in 2016,” Sgt. Jake Becchina, a spokesman for the
department, said Friday. “The actions in the two separate incidents are not related.” KC Blotter: Crime, courts, more Sign up for our newsletter for the latest crime and courts headlines. In your inbox Monday- Saturday mornings. Enter Email Address SIGN UP This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. POLICE REPORT On the afternoon of May 30, demonstrators in the area of 47th Street and JC Nichols Parkway had been told to stay on the sidewalk after some individuals threw rocks and water bottles at police, according to Oakes, who wrote Maddox’s arrest report. Maddox twice stepped off the street and on to the sidewalk, each time receiving a verbal warning from officers, Oakes wrote. Maddox complied and officers told him he would be arrested if he did it again. Hall, who also provided a narrative in the report, said Maddox “began yelling and shouting at officers and inciting the other protesters.” “For approximately thirty minutes, I observed Maddox walk out into the street multiple times so that he could yell at officers who were working the line,” Hall wrote, adding that Maddox also threatened to burn something down. When Maddox stepped off the sidewalk again, Oakes and McQuillen approached him, according to the report. Maddox stepped back up on the curb as the officers grabbed of his arms, the report reads. A girl next to Maddox, identified separately in the lawsuit as his
daughter, yelled “no” and pushed McQuillen away with her hand, according to police. McQuillen then aimed a pepper spray canister at the girl and “delivered a brief burst to the face,” according to the report. A viral video captured a protester in Kansas City getting pepper sprayed in the face after yelling at police May 30, 2020. “After several minutes of Maddox refusing to cooperate, the decision was made to stand Maddox up without handcuffs in order to remove ourselves from the immediate area of the protest as water bottles were continually being thrown at us,” Oakes wrote. Maddox was taken away without further incident. Officers said the girl retreated and could not be found to arrest for hindering an arrest. Emergency medical personnel were called after Maddox told police he was going into cardiac arrest, according to the report. He was taken to the hospital. Maddox was cited for failure to comply. Kansas City City Council members later voted not to pursue charges against nonviolent protesters, like Maddox, and his
case was closed. Becchina, the police spokesman, said in an email Thursday that because there are no longer charges against Maddox, his arrest report is closed and therefore not subject to public records law. The Star obtained a copy of the report from another source. A lawsuit, filed by Maddox in Jackson County Circuit Court accuses the three named officers of assault and false imprisonment and two of them of battery. Maddox’s attorney, Tom Porto, wrote that the officers gave no instructions or said anything to those in the vicinity as they approached. Two of the officers placed their hands on Maddox without warning, he said. The lawsuit described the arrest as a “kidnapping.” After pulling Maddox into the street, officers kept spraying their pepper foggers into the crowd “like they were spraying silly string at a birthday party,” the suit alleges. Maddox was deliberately harmed by the officers despite posing no threat to them, according to the lawsuit. He suffered injuries to his face, mouth, head and legs while his daughter was harmed in the face, forehead and eyes, the suit stated. Maddox also received “permanent injuries,” the suit alleges. Asked about those injuries, Porto said Maddox sustained an injury to his left knee during the arrest that required surgery. “The video speaks for itself,” Porto told The Star the day the suit was filed. 2016 SHOOTOUT More than three years before they were served with a lawsuit from Maddox, Oakes and Hall were called to the scene of shootout on Kansas City’s east side that left several people injured. “The officers were then involved in an officer involved shooting,” a report from the Kansas City Police Department’s Notable Event Review Panel reads.
According to an article by The Star published Nov. 27, 2016, the day of the incident, officers called to a shooting in the 7100 block of Prospect Avenue encountered a rolling gun battle. One of the officer fired shots out of fear for officer safety, a police spokesperson said at the time. By the time the shootout was over, seven people were injured, multiple vehicles were wrecked and the scene spanned several blocks. A man who reported he was shot by a police officer was treated for minor injuries. A police vehicle was damaged by gunfire, but no officers were injured. Kansas City police were still on the scene Sunday near Gregory Boulevard and Prospect Avenue after an early morning rolling gunbattle injured seven people. Jill Toyoshiba JTOYOSHIBA@KCSTAR.COM The shooting incident was later reviewed by the police panel, which recommended an outdoor active shooter situation be discussed at annual trainings. No policy
change was recommended. “During the meeting, the panel reviewed the listed applicable policies and determined the officers handled the incident the best they could based on the totality of the circumstances,” the report read. The two officers’ actions in arresting Maddox are still under review, Jackson County prosecutors said Wednesday. As Maddox was being taken away from the crowd by police in May, someone in the crowd could be heard yelling, “he has a First Amendment right!” The video was featured in a June episode of John Oliver’s “Last Week Tonight.” “It is genuinely impossible to overstate how enraging that is,” Oliver said. “They are protesting police brutality and the police are pepper spraying them like it is (expletive) sunscreen.” Police Chief Rick Smith defended the use of pepper spray at the time of the protest. “It is a fine balance in keeping a peaceful demonstration and one getting out of hand,” Smith said. “On the face of it, it looks like all of our policies were followed, on face value.” The Star’s Luke Nozicka contributed to this story. RELATED STORIES FROM KANSAS CITY STAR CRIME LOCAL Man, daughter sue KC officers who KCPD reviewing video footage from pepper sprayed them in viral video protests to evaluate its response to at Plaza protest demonstrations AUGUST 11, 2020 11:27 AM JULY 07, 2020 12:51 PM CRIME POLITICS-GOVERNMENT ACLU says ‘failure to obey’ arrests in After fervent pleas, plan moves Kansas City protests were ahead to drop charges for some unconstitutional Kansas City protesters JULY 03, 2020 2:40 PM JUNE 09, 2020 5:35 PM
LOCAL LOCAL
KCPD defends approach to Plaza Faces of protest: These are the
protest policing, recognizes need for people demonstrating against police
change brutality in KC
JUNE 16, 2020 5:31 PM JUNE 04, 2020 12:31 PM
1 of 5
Two Kansas City police officers involved in the arrest of a protester in a viral video this summer had
participated in a 2016 shootout that left seven people injured. JILL TOYOSHIBA JTOYOSHIBA@KCSTAR.COM
ANNA SPOERRE
Anna Spoerre covers breaking news for the Kansas City Star. Before joining The Star, she covered crime and
courts for the Des Moines Register. Spoerre is a graduate of Southern Illinois University Carbondale, where
she studied journalism.
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