KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A lawsuit was filed Friday in federal court in Wyandotte County in the death of Wyandotte County Adult Detention Center inmate Charles Adair.
Adair died after a confrontation inside his jail cell in July 2025.
The suit names as defendants the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas, Richard W. Fatherley Jr., the jail employee who is accused of second-degree murder in Adair's death, Wyandotte County Sheriff Daniel Soptic and five jail employees who are not named.
Adair was in the jail on July 5, 2025, on misdemeanor traffic warrants, according to the lawsuit.
The suit states Adair suffered from a serious left leg infection that needed infirmary care and the use of a wheelchair.
The incident began when one or more of the deputies took Adair in his wheelchair to his jail cell. He was handcuffed in the front of his body.
While being moved to his cell, the deputies put Adair face down on the lower bunk — his upper body was on the bed and his knees were on the floor, according to the lawsuit.
Adair yelled for help and Fatherly put his body weight on Adair's back in what the lawsuit states was "a dangerous, procedurally unauthorized prone restraint."
The lawsuit claims the position caused him to asphyxiate and die.
Adair was declared dead by a nurse following the incident.
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The lawsuit states before his death, Adair "exhibited clear signs of mental health distress" that included incoherent speech, rolling on the floor and other abnormal behaviors.
Fatherly was charged on Sept. 18, 2025, by the Wyandotte County District Attorney's Office with second-degree murder, and he was placed on leave.
The lawsuit claims Fatherly was able to continue using his sheriff's office email address in violation of the Unified Government's policies.
He also allegedly used his department email to contact employees he knew were witnesses and kept in contact via email with other members of the sheriff's department.
Other allegations in the lawsuit include inadequate training and supervision on use of force, positional and restraint asphyxia and responses to detainee compliance.
Sheriff Daniel Soptic, along with the Unified Government, are accused in the lawsuit of deliberately and/or recklessly indifferent to such constitutional violations.
Fatherley is scheduled to be in Wyandotte County Court on May 20 for a status conference.
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