Matt and Stacy were upset, but they believed the worst was over. It was the Taser that almost killed Bryce. This time, he didnt reconsider. Bryces only mistake in this situation was following his parents advice to ask questions, particularly to ask why if stopped by law enforcement. What happened to my teeth? he asked repeatedly. All rights reserved. Timothy Runnels, a 32-year-old former Independence, Missouri, police officer SENTENCED to 4 years in Federal Prison. Timothy Runnels, et al Case Summary On 06/17/2019 Bryce Masters filed a Civil Right - Other Civil Right lawsuit against Timothy Runnels ,. 19-2242 (8th Cir. Timothy Runnels, 32, previously pleaded guilty to violating the civil rights of 17-year-old Bryce Masters. Matt couldnt see any probable cause. That august body will now discuss and then vote on whether to adopt The Michael Brown Over-Police Rights Act (MBOPRA) at theLegislative Session of the NAACPs Annual Convention. Some of Bryces memories are made and erased overnight, and sometimes more frequently. Since smell is subjective, and difficult to prove, officers can use marijuana odor broadly to justify probable cause, Matt said. In today's KC Star. Thats what caused him to go into cardiac arrest. Join Facebook to connect with Timothy Runnels and others you may know. . It was because they fought, or they were stressed, he remembered hearing in his training. A measure of justice for Bryce. share. He would sleep for a bit, forget again, then look in the mirror. We didnt think death, Matt remembered. When they opened his hospital gown, Matt saw two bright red marks that looked like bee stings on Bryces body. But his anxiety those first few months made such issues much more debilitating. Worse, they were afraid his emotional vulnerability would cause him to take his own life. Timothy Runnels Subscribe to this topic via RSS or ATOM Topic - Timothy Runnels Related Stories Man hit by Taser by Independence cop awarded $6.5 million Associated Press Mediator to hear. His use of excessive force violated both the publics trust and his oath to uphold the law. True, Black and Native Americans areat least 21 times moreat risk to be shot and killed by overzealous Law Enforcement Officers, but white people are at risk, too. As the boy went into cardiac arrest and technically died before paramedics resuscitated him, the aggressive cop was captured on video manhandling and stepping on the dying teens motionless body. Kos Media, LLC. Aside from dealing with a traumatic brain injury, Bryce has battled the perception that he is somehow responsible for the crime committed against him. By Wednesday evening, the medical staff was ready to give Bryce a crucial test. Matt and Stacy would check on him as he slept, just to make sure he was still breathing. Warning: This video contains graphic scenes of police violence. Runnels wrote that he observed the vehicle to have darkly tinted windows, and that after Bryce partially rolled down his window, he detected an odor of marijuana coming from inside the vehicle. Runnels maintained that there was a warrant associated with the license plate, but FBI agents told Mattthat the plate number would have provided details for a woman, with a different car, from a different county. Timothy Runnels, a police officer with seven years' experience in law enforcement, was on patrol in the area. He tells Bryce to get out but doesnt give a reason. Trying to go back to normal meant putting himself back in the community. The next eight weeks were crucial to his recovery; doctors advised the Masters that Bryce would make his most significant gains in the first couple months after his injury. During roll call one day, Runnels was describing a recent unsuccessful hunting trip. Today's story doesn't involve a Taser related death. The defendant abused his authority as a law enforcement officer by depriving a minor of his constitutional rights and causing bodily harm, said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Gupta. Riveting article. Masters nearly died, according to testimony last week. Over the next several weeks, he went down a rabbit hole of news stories about Taser-related deaths and studies examining the weapons potential lethality. One of the obstruction charges dealt with the misleading police report. A former Independence police officer who injured a teen driver during a 2014 traffic stop was sentenced Wednesday to four years in federal prison. The sergeant didnt respond well to the threat and told her that if she were a better mother, maybe none of this would have happened. While most of the 15-minute session was spent on updated legal information, and situations in which Taser use was not advised, there was no mention of potential cardiac risks. Cops use that all the time.. I dont play games., Ive been tased a dozen times, Runnels said to Bryce. Matt called the FBI agents he met on Monday. According to the indictment, Runnels continuously deployed a Taser against Bryce while he was on the ground and not posing a threat to the defendant or others. It was the first time the Masters realized that Bryce had been repeatedly tased. Wake up, guy, the officer said. He was arrested and charged. The Department of Justice included parts of our law in their reports on Ferguson, Missouri, in 2015. 2021) Annotate this Case Court Description: [Kelly, Author, with Colloton and Melloy, Circuit Judges] Civil Case - Civil Rights Act. After excessively tazing a fellow cops underage son during a traffic stop and slamming the handcuffed teen face-first onto the street, an overzealous officer was recently sentenced to four years in prison for violating the minors civil rights. His use of excessive force violated both the publics trust and his oath to uphold the law, Tammy Dickinson, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri, said in a written statement. Select this result to view Timothy Glynn Runnels's phone number, address, and more. Bryce would spend several hours cooling down, stay cooled for a minimum of 24 hours, and then be slowly warmed back up. Consider what the world of media would look like without The Intercept. U.S. District Judge Dean Whipple imposed the sentence Wednesday in Kansas City after hearing evidence and testimony last week in a hearing where Masters and his father, a Kansas City police officer,described the ongoing effects of the brain injurythe teen suffered. Bryce has vague memories of that Wednesday night. People tell me Im different, he admitted to the crowd. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. Masters was able to crawl out of his car before falling unconscious face-down on the pavement. He believes that when Runnels said, All right, fine, fuck it, he was making a conscious decision to punish Bryce. They couldnt hear the siren when Runnels turned it on, but they soon saw the Pontiac slowing down, pulling to the side of the road, stopping. That faith had allowed him to rationalize Runnelss actions, but there was no rationalizing what was on that recording. Why dont cops know all this? Certainly some did, but for all the years Matt had carried a Taser, he didnt know. Does one have to be trained to know that you do not hurt a living breathing animal or person unless your life is in imminent danger? All rights reserved. "These outages are minimal compared to what we saw today," Runnels said . Matt once received a standing ovation after a grand jury cleared him of any wrongdoing in shooting a 16-year-old armed robbery suspect four times. Do you think that Bryce is going to make it? heasked her. ET.". His mom and dad held his hand. They sat on the right side, with Runnelss family and friends on the left. Matt is a 19-year veteran of the Kansas City Police Department with a slew of warrior-cop credentials. Everything Taser told them.. Timothy Runnels is a provider established in Spring, Texas and his medical specialization is Chiropractor. The video showing what OfficerTimothy Runnelsdid to the teenager is almost unwatchable. He wondered what he could repair, and if he was ever going to be the same. Bryce was recently ticketed for allegedly going 80 mphin a 40 mph zone by an officer who claimed he had paced the car to determine its speed instead of using a radar gun. But in the summer of 2014, Bryce started having run-ins with the local police. However, the future he once imagined for himself was now likely out of reach. Any positive reviews previously submitted about Dr. Timothy D Runnels, DC will appear here. Bryces brain was deprived of oxygen for six to eight minutes while he was in cardiac arrest. Timothy Runnels Case Summary On 06/12/2019 Bryce Masters filed a Civil Right - Other Civil Right lawsuit against Timothy Runnels. This article was reported in partnership with The Investigative Fund at The Nation Institute. Of all those involved in this case, I was most interested in the reaction of Bryces dad who is himself a cop. Runnels told him to get up. Runnels may have been a bad cop, but if he hadnt been given a device that Taser International had assured him was extremely unlikely to kill, then he might not have been tempted to shock a teenager who simply wanted to know why he was being arrested. I felt like he would have cared for an injured animal better.. As a police officer, his opinion about whether Tasers could kill mirrored the standard explanation he and his fellow officers had heard from the companys trainers, that Tasers causing cardiac arrest was just a tall tale concocted by attorneys and the media to disparage a useful police weapon. Miami Trace High School recently released the second nine weeks honor roll and honorable mention. They stared at Bryce as the reality that he might die washed over them. Bryce refused. The federal government isn't actually measuring how inflation is hurting rural America, Kansas City singer Ida McBeth, 'unmatched in melody and soul,' dies at 70, Jessie Montgomery, composing from a place of self-honor, After 18 hours, Kansas City police standoff ends with 1 man found dead inside house, Court Gets Unusually Specific On Police Taser Gun Use, Case Of Autistic Missouri Teen Who Was Tased After Stopping To Tie His Shoe Moves Forward, Jury Sides With Police In Tasing Case Of Maryville, Missouri, Teen With Autism, Juror: Jury In Tased Teen Case Wasnt Told Why They Couldnt Hold City Of Maryville Liable. As the video openswe seea gray Pontiac enter the frame, and Bryces dad, Matt, put his hand on his sons knee. Tears began to form in both his parents eyes, anticipating what everyone else in the room was about to see. They told him that they were disappointed he was smoking marijuana but that his civil rights had been violated. They argue the doctrine has been a major obstacle to police accountability. No one said anything about avoiding the chest, and this was five years after Taser International officially changed the target area. Even so,the prosecution agreed that the initial Taser use was reasonable and within common police practice. In a rare instance of a court denying qualified immunity to a government official, the 8th U.S. My beloved, trifling older brother cooked baby potatoes and while they were still hot he threw them one at a time at Needle whod catch them, spit them out and go on to catch the next. By Monday morning, September 15, Bryces core temperature had reached 92.6 degrees 6degrees below normal. The past 20 months have been emotionally and physically exhausting, the statement said. "The department remains committed to ensuring. The story became notorious among Kansas City cops. But after his interaction with Runnels, his friendships faded as his classmates realized how emotionally unpredictable hed become. OurFreedom of Information Act project. Runnels grabbedBryces cellphone, throwing it in front of the car, demanding that he get on the ground. Former Officer Timothy Runnels was sentenced last week to four years in prison over the September 2014 incident. Matt also had to endure half a dozen funny Taser videos between slides. AMR ordered (Taser protocol). It was clear that officials were determined to place blame on Bryce and paint a picture of a lawful stop that escalated into a justified use of force. You can receive all future diariesof Support the Dream Defenders in your Daily KosStreamby clickinghere. In the whirlwind of activity, Matt and Stacy realized they hadnt yet received an official medical explanation for what caused Bryces cardiac arrest. I thought he shot him. It looked like he hit his head on the concrete. When his mom noticed, he tried to explain how strange they felt. 2. First responders revived him, but he suffered hypoxia or oxygen deficiency to the brain. The Independence Police Department did not respond to a request for comment. More importantly, if there was no warrant associated with Bryce or his car, why was he stopped in the first place? All rights reserved. Then and only then well see an end to this crap. After excessively tazing a fellow cops underage son during a traffic stop and slamming the handcuffed teen face-first onto the street, an overzealous officer was recently sentenced to four years in prison for violating the minors civil rights. Stacy had put herself in the shoes of Runnelss family. Runnels had once been an officer inthe Kansas City Police Department, though Matt didnt work in his sector. Stacy just looked on in horror. In my heart of hearts, I felt like he was slipping away, she said. Curtis thought Matt should probably come by to make sure everything was all right. Later, a different spokesperson would tell KCTV that the use of the Taser was in policy. Runnelss name wasnt initially released. Dash camera video of the incident depicts Runnels handcuffing the minor after the taser deployment and then picking him up. Police1 is revolutionizing the way the law enforcement community ', , that never see the inside of a courtroom, What's a cop to do when his son is beaten bloody by another cop? Case Details Parties Documents Dockets Case Details Case Number: 19-2242 By signing up, I agree to receive emails from The Intercept and to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. Some of Bryces memories are made and erased overnight, and sometimes more frequently. Then he pulled him out of the car, handcuffed him, and drug him around the car. Thats all it takes to support the journalism you rely on. He wanted the judge to know he was a good person, a strong person, and despite all hed been through, determined to make the most out of his life. He had to serve time. He was a 1965 Dr. Zipes is one of the worlds pre-eminent electrophysiologists (and often a witness against Taser International in product liability suits), so when Matt read the study he understood Dr. Augustins certainty in Bryces case. The catalyst for the crime was the 23-second Taser deployment straight into Bryce's chest. Then one morning in August 2014, after spending the night at a friends house in Independence, Bryce walked outside and approached his car, which was parked on the street. Copyright 2023 Police1. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Departments Civil Rights Division, and U.S. Attorney Tammy Dickinson of the Western District of Missouri announced that former Independence, Missouri, Police Officer Timothy Runnels was sentenced to 4 years in prison for violating the constitutional rights of a minor who was in his custody. He thought again about his own training, and how Taser International, by holding a virtual monopoly on the weapons, heavily influenced the information officers received. Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Ketchmark argued that the length of time that Runnels held down the Tasers trigger was an aggravating factor. Matt and Stacy said the agents seemed unsurprised by the injuries. It was so unnatural.Bryce was unconscious, and no one was telling Stacy he was going to be OK. Shecalled Matt. Taser International did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Runnels didnt answer. Theyre working it backwards. Matts experience as a cop taught him that officers can sometimes write themselves out of trouble through exaggerated and self-serving reports. He no longer had the ability to adequately control feelings of anger, frustration, depression, and anxiety. Taser puncture marks on Bryce Masterss chest and torso, Sept. 15, 2014. You dont just get tased, Matt remembered thinking. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a $6.5 million jury verdict against former officer Timothy Runnels over the confrontation with Bryce Masters during a traffic stop in 2014, KCUR . Get your ass out of the car, andattempts to pull him out by force. Judge Dean Whipple had not yet watched the governments key piece of evidence a dashboard video because he wanted to do so with attorneys present to make arguments. The Masters could see Bryces heart heaving up and down on the screen, an indication that he was going through cardiac arrest. Then click "Follow," which will make all STDD diariesappear in "My Stream" of your Daily Kos page. After serving his sentence, Runnels will be placed on supervised release for two years. The court found that the law surrounding the officers use of force was not clearly established. They called for scans and tests. The Masters werent expecting to see the dashcam video that day, but shortly after court adjourned, Ketchmark invited them to a conference room. It was Bryces only option, doctors told Matt and Stacy. Been tased a dozen funny Taser videos between slides roll call one day Runnels... ; These outages are minimal compared to what we saw today, & quot Runnels. About to see particularly to ask questions, particularly to ask questions, particularly to ask questions, to! The publics trust and his oath to uphold the law surrounding the officers of. Not respond to multiple requests for comment Runnels was describing a recent unsuccessful hunting.... 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