KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa covers Miami County in Kansas and Cass County in Missouri. He also covers agricultural topics. Share your story idea with Ryan.
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New video emerged this week following a shooting near Independence Boulevard and Indiana Avenue.
Two Kansas City, Missouri, police officers were dispatched Sunday afternoon to a disturbance and a person firing a gun into the air.
The video was taken by a bystander on a cell phone, provided to an attorney, and the attorney gave it to KSHB 41.
According to court documents, the caller described "an unknown male wearing a black cap, black hoodie, that was shooing a firearm into the air holding a bottle near a white truck."
KSHB 41 News Reporter Ryan Gamboa went to two experts, a criminal defense attorney and a criminal justice professor to examine the video.
"We see in the video a struggle at the front end of the video," said Greg Watt, a criminal defense attorney. "Obviously two individuals are not able to contain this suspect."
The video begins showing two KCPD officers struggling to detain a male fitting the caller's description.
"That suspect is clearly resisting, no questions asked," said Watt.
The suspect, later identified as Jose Lugo, gets to his feet as the video continues. One officer fires his taser at Lugo and it doesn't slow him down.
The camera, gradually turns toward the second officer as Lugo steps out of frame. The second officer fired two shots at the suspect, knocking him down.
One bystander appears to dive at a weapon that falls on the ground. An officer tackles her, while the other appears to throw the gun out of arms reach.
An officer is seen at the end of the clip picking up a weapon and the video ends.
"I have to take at face value what the dispatcher has told me," explained John Hamilton, a criminal justice professor at Park University and who spent 27 years on the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department.
Hamilton refers back to the initial call dispatchers received.
According to court documents, officers were dispatched to an incident where a man was firing a gun into the air and the description.
"As I am approaching this call, I am approaching it with the sense that somebody there is armed with a weapon, and somebody has fired the weapon in some way," Hamilton said. "It obviously heightens my awareness of things that are going on. And obviously, the idea is figuring out who might have the weapon and getting things secured."
Hamilton went on to explain with standard calls when a weapon is presumed to be involved, police officers are trained to secure the suspect fitting the description.
"And I want to make sure that I have them incapacitated that the scene would be safe," he said. "Then we can begin to ask more questions."
That's what it appears officers were attempting to do. The video begins with both officers struggling to gain control on top of Lugo. What isn't known is what led up to that point.
The video only shows one perspective, that of the person holding the cell phone.
"The last thing I want is an unsecured weapon floating around out here," Hamilton said.
Jose Lugo was charged on Wednesday with a Class B Felony of Unlawful Possession of a Firearm. The charging documents state Lugo knowingly possessed a black Springfield XB .45 caliber handgun.
Lugo has prior felony convictions from May 29, 2008, for First Degree Assault and Felony Armed Criminal Action.
For the Class B felony, the punishment is imprisonment up to 15 years.
KSHB 41 asked both Hamilton and Watt about the legality of possessing a firearm in Missouri. The two stated that it is not illegal to possess a gun and acknowledge that officers would not have known Lugo had past convictions upon arrival at the scene.
Additionally, the probabe cause statement reports the gun recovered at Sunday's incident was stolen out of Columbia, Missouri in 2022.
"When you are approached by an officer, just the commonsense aspect has to kick in," Watt explained. "All you have to do is say 'Hey, I have a firearm, here are my hands, I wanted you to know. I am no threat to you.'"
Hamilton explained communication is important for police officers when they arrive to a scene by asking a suspect to present themselves and cooperate so they can investigate the call.
"Legitimate gun owners, who have no intention of doing it badly, understand the communication part of it," Hamilton said. "If they begin to reach into their pocket, then it does become a 'What do I do at this time?'" Are they reaching into their pocket to make it stronger to resist, or are they reaching into their pocket to grab a weapon?"
Squad car video and officer body camera footage has not been released and should help understand what happened.
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