KANSAS CITY, Mo. — KSHB 41 News reporter Braden Bates covers parts of Jackson County, Missouri, including Lee's Summit. Send Braden a story idea by e-mail.
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The family of Saveion McConnell, a 19-year-old from Lee's Summit who was shot and killed by a Lafayette County sheriff's deputy in May, is speaking out after selected portions of body camera footage was released by the family's attorneys.
The Johnson County, Missouri, prosecuting attorney declined to file charges against the deputy involved in the shooting of McConnell, who was shot 9 times.
McConnell's family said they are beyond disappointed in the decision and maintains the shooting was not justified.
McConnell's family attorneys released about two minutes of the footage the night of the shooting. While not all the video released, the video that was released provided a look at the events directly before Saveion was killed.
Watch: An edited clip is shown in the video player below.
Saveion's uncle, Phillip Washington, said the footage only intensifies the family's desire for justice.
"There's no way you could look at that video and deem that some form of justice," Washington said. "You couldn't , you can't look at that video and say he was a threat."
Kansas City Public Safety
Attorneys representing family of Saveion McConnell release body cam footage
The incident occurred April 30 into the early hours of May 1. McConnell and some friends drove from Lee’s Summit to a party in Warrensburg.
According to a court document, the group had an AR-style rifle in the car on the way to Warrensburg. McConnell acquired a Glock pistol before leaving a party in Warrensburg.
Near the intersection of U.S. Highway 50 and Missouri Route 131, the pistol discharged and shot the juvenile female driver in the back.
“No physical evidence contradicted the belief of the juvenile that she was shot by someone in the rear seats,” a court document stated.
When deputies responded, the driver said she was shot by McConnell, who fled the scene.
Jackson County
Family of Lee's Summit teen killed in Lafayette Co. police shooting speaks out
Washington said, despite McConnell leaving the scene, he shouldn't have been considered dangerous.
"But yet, knew of the report from the initial shooting in the very beginning where the witnesses clearly stated it was an accident. We are all friends," said Washington.
After law officers were told by witnesses that McConnell had left the scene, officers later got a report of a man walking on U.S. 50 Highway.
The man matched the suspect's description, court documents state. Law enforcement officers found McConnell and another person walking. The other person was from the original scene and spoke with police earlier.
After the officers made contact with McConnell and the other person, the video shows McConnell being instructed to walk backwards with his hands up. The officers had their guns drawn.
A few moments after McConnell walked backwards, he ran off.
Not captured on the released portions of the body camera footage, but in several reports. including court documents, McConnell was hit by a Lafayette County Sheriff's Department cruiser.
Shortly after, he was shot nine times and killed.
Washington pointed to the actions of the two officers captured in the footage.
"There were two officers there, one with the taser and one with a gun," Washington said. "You clearly hear the officer —'Yo, taser, taser."' He didn't view Saveion as a threat, yet this other officer did. There are two different states of mind."
Washington told me the video invokes a need for change, citing what he called "the impact of police violence and law enforcement misconduct."
He said he hopes to create a program for law enforcement departments to show the impact of officer-involved shootings, reminding officers of the oath they took.
"We have to stand on that oath. That's a universal oath." Washington said. "This is the route we need to take. We have to facilitate this, their impact and we have to, we have to do it. We can't go the other route, we can't do that."
He said he wants to start a nonprofit in Saveion's honor to conduct the training. His said his hope is the departments will train officers to take a step back before opting to use deadly force.
After the partial release of the footage, KSHB 41 reached out to the Johnson County prosecuting attorney about his decision to not charge the deputy involved.
Prosecuting Attorney Robert Russell said:
My sympathies go out to the family of Savion McConnell. This is not a new video but excerpts from the entire body camera video from the Odessa officer. While he makes insensitive statements, those are not attributed to the officer involved in the shooting. In reviewing the whole video and not solely excerpts, I still stand by my decision based on the whole of the evidence not to file charges. Self-defense is a special defense under Missouri law and the state must disprove by proof beyond a reasonable doubt that a person did not act in self-defense. The evidence presented to my office is insufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the officer did not act in self-defense.
McConnell's family currently has an active civil rights lawsuit filed.
We will continue to follow this story as it develops.
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