KANSAS CITY, Mo. — 50-year-old Charles Adair died in a Wyandotte County jail in July 2025 during a struggle with jail employees. His death was ruled a homicide earlier in September. The Wyandotte County District Attorney's office charged Deputy Richard Fatherly with second degree murder.
Since then, citizens, clergy members and activists have come together demanding justice for Adair. His family spoke exclusively with KSHB 41's Alyssa Jackson over the weekend, calling for answers and transparency.
Renowned national civil rights attorneys Ben Crump, who represented the family of George Floyd in 2020, and Harry Daniels are representing Adair's family. Transparency and fairness were the main messages brought forth at a press conference on Tuesday night.
Crump and other attorneys watched the body camera footage from inside the Wyandotte County jail where Adair's death took place. They described it as 'horrific'.
"Let's be fair to Charles Adair!" Crump and Adair's family chanted on Tuesday.
Inside the walls of Friendship Baptist Church in Kansas City, Missouri, the calls for justice echoed.
"When you all get to see that video, you'll be as shocked as anybody who saw the George Floyd video," Crump said. "Charles Adair should not be dead."
According to Crump and his team, Adair was in a wheelchair from diabetes complications. Deputy Richard Fatherly and another law enforcement officer brought Adair back to his cell fro the nurse on July 5. Fatherly allegedly kneeled with his entire body weight on Adair's back while removing his handcuffs for a minute and 25 seconds.
Adair was in the Wyandotte County jail for traffic violations.
"You hold people accountable for taking a life unnecessarily, unjustifiably and unconstitutionally," Crump said. “A traffic violation should not equal a death sentence.”
Adair's family stood arm in arm, describing their uncle, brother and father.
"He was not a street thug, he was not a pimp, he was not a drug dealer or anything," brother Anthony Adair said. "He was common."
The family and advocates have repeatedly questioned why Fatherly was issued a summons and was not arrested.
"We're going to turn over every stone, every pebble, cross every t and dot every i to ensure that this family gets justice," Daniels said. "Deputy Fatherly should be in jail right now."
KSHB 41 News has gone in depth asking attorneys why a summons was issued.
Former Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker, who has prosecuted multiple law enforcement cases, explained in order for a judge to issue an arrest warrant the defendant has to be considered a flight risk and a harm to others in public.
"It may be unusual but appropriate under these circumstances," Peters Baker said. "It is not how you feel, it's not how angry you might be or how outraged you might be. It is a series of rules that prosecutors must follow, and the DA appears to have done that in this case from my analysis.”
Peters Baker explained there is a heightened level of scrutiny that comes with prosecuting members of law enforcement.
"The individual facts of cases and all of those facts cannot be known to the public as a whole and that is the integrity of the process," Peters Baker said. "It's not that a prosecutor is trying to keep secrets from you, it's a prosecutor adhering to [their] oath of office."
Adair's attorneys have called for the body camera video they witnessed to be released to the public.
"I don’t understand why in the state of Kansas you have body camera video for transparency but then when a tragedy happens they won’t show the video," Crump said.
Fatherly's hearing is set for November. The Wyandotte County DA filed a motion asking for a judge from an outside jurisdiction, which attorneys have agreed with.
"If it was your child, wouldn't you want somebody fair?" Crump said.
And to his family, Adair is remembered as more than fair.
"There’s no more talks with his big brother Malcom about the Kansas City Royals or the Kansas City Chiefs. No more barbecues," sister Erica Adair said. "We will not forget what his life meant to us."
Adair's attorneys have not filed any civil suits on behalf of the family but stated they have every intention to once evidence is released.
KSHB 41 reporter Isabella Ledonne covers issues surrounding government accountability, solutions and consumer advocacy. Share your story with Isabella.
