Family of US man who died after officer shoved knee into back sues police | US crime
Relatives of a man who investigators determined died after a Kansas sheriff’s deputy pushed his knee into the handcuffed man’s back for one minute and 26 seconds have filed a federal lawsuit.
Lawyers for Charles Adair’s family renewed their request on Friday for the video of what happened to be released to the public in order to publicize the wrongful death case.
The lawsuit, filed in early April, names the Wyandotte County sheriff, the state and the combined government of Kansas City, and Richard Fatherley, who was charged with second-degree murder in Adair’s death in September.
“The public has a right to transparency when someone dies in custody like this,” civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represents the family, said in a press release.
Crump and another civil rights attorney, Harry Daniels, were allowed to view video of what occurred. The sheriff’s office denied a records request from The Associated Press seeking the video.
Adair was arrested on a misdemeanor in July after failing to appear in court for multiple traffic violations. Adair’s leg had to be amputated and he was taken directly to the hospital because it was so badly infected, an affidavit from a Kansas bureau of investigative agents said.
Before Adair was allowed to return to prison, he was diagnosed with a type of bone infection that sometimes develops in people with diabetes. The affidavit stated that it was also determined in the medical screening that he was schizophrenic.
The lawsuit said he was incoherent and deputies believed Adair’s medical condition was “affecting his brain.”
The next evening, after re-bandaging his leg, he got into an argument with the police officer who took him back to his cell. Adair eventually threw himself out of the wheelchair, the affidavit said.
When he returned to his cell, he was placed face down on the bottom bunk bed with his legs and knees on the floor. The lawsuit and court records show him repeatedly yelling “Help!” It shows him shouting.
Adair complied with orders, but Fatherley “pressed his body weight on Mr. Adair’s back,” the lawsuit said. Fatherley then threw his weight forward as other deputies removed Adair’s handcuffs.
None of the other officers present intervened, and deputies did not change their tactics to account for Adair’s apparent mental health impairment, the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit also stated that Fatherley, who was on administrative leave and free on bond, had his e-mail connection to the sheriff’s office disconnected after he was charged, allowing him to communicate with other members of the agency and employees he knew were witnesses.
Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Capt. Michael Kroening said Fatherley’s email was deactivated April 13 after the lawsuit was filed. He declined to comment further because the case is ongoing. A county spokesperson did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
A status conference in the criminal case against Fatherley is scheduled for May. His lawyer, James Spies, said Adair’s death was a “tragic accident” but was not a result of Fatherley’s actions. A phone message left at Spies’ law firm was not immediately answered.
