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KCPD reaches settlement with teen pepper sprayed in 2020 police protests

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Posted at 4:29 PM, Jan 18, 2022
and last updated 2022-01-18 17:29:32-05

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department has agreed to a $110,000 settlement with a then-15-year-old girl that was pepper sprayed during protests in May 2020 in Kansas City, Missouri.

The teen and her father, Tarence Maddox, filed a civil suit against KCPD in August 2020 for damages suffered when police used pepper spray on a crowd gathered at Mill Creek Park in Kansas City, Missouri protesting police brutality.

In the original petition, Maddox’s attorneys claimed the officers' action demonstrated “use of force without just cause” — which, the suit claims, constitutes assault, battery and false imprisonment — in a Petition for Damages filed Monday in Jackson County Circuit Court.

The incident was caught on cell phone video, which now has amassed 8.6 million views.

A Kansas City, Missouri, Police spokesperson declined comment beyond acknowledging the settlement. A Jackson County judge approved terms of the settlement during a hearing Tuesday morning.

In March 2021, a Jackson County grand jury indicted KCPD Officer Nicholas M. McQuillen with fourth-degree assault in connection to the incident. Court records indicate a pre-trial conference is set in the case for April 1, 2022, with a jury trial scheduled 10 days later on April 11.