Dr. Augustin said, Thats not what happened, Matt remembered. Its a miracle hes alive.. The catalyst for the crime was the 23-second Taser deployment straight into Bryce's chest. In finding that Runnels was not entitled to qualified immunity, the 8th Circuit adopted a position that it has rarely taken in the past. As the ambulance took Bryce to Centerpoint Medical Center, Matt decided to stay to make sure Independence investigators appropriately collected evidence, assuming Bryce would recover. He ran a license plate check on Masters's car, which revealed an outstanding warrant apparently associated with the plate.3 Runnels then initiated a traffic stop. OurMichael Brown Over-Policed Rights Act, crowd-sourced at Daily Kos in the fall of 2014 after the death of Michael Brown. They had seen the dashboard video and had a clear picture of what happened. The video above shows Runnels approaching a pulled-over vehicle being driven by Bryce Masters, then 17, who was on his way to play video games with a friend. Matt and Stacy were upset, but they believed the worst was over. Matt also had to endure half a dozen funny Taser videos between slides. He and Stacy had been assured by the FBI that what Runnels did crossed the line. 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. And, to this day, were what, 15 years later since its hit the vast majority of departments, thats still the narrative.. This article was reported in partnership with The Investigative Fund at The Nation Institute. Dan Margolies has been a reporter for the Kansas City Business Journal, The Kansas City Star, and KCUR Public Radio. You could see blood coming out of his mouth. Two years earlier, Masters, then a 17-year-old high school senior, was driving his car when Runnels pulled him over for a traffic stop. Matt suspected that once it was clear the warrant association to the car wasnt sufficient probable cause for an arrest, Runnels needed new justifications. He was sentenced to four years in prison after pleading in 2015 to one count of deprivation of rights. No one said anything about avoiding the chest, and this was five years after Taser International officially changed the target area and with an incident involving a local officers child providing a perfect example of what could happen. . Weve all been duped. More importantly, if there was no warrant associated with Bryce or his car, why was he stopped in the first place? We saw that Tamirs murderer drove up on him and two seconds later the boy was taking his last breaths. The video, from the September 2014 incident, shows former police officer Timothy Runnels approaching the vehicle. I didnt do anything wrong. Still, seeing himself abused like that was surreal. And, if his future was going to be the way that they described to me if he did make it, I didnt know if I wanted him to.. People were just shaking their heads, Stacy said. Both Matt and Stacy immediately wondered what it would show. This time, he didnt reconsider. 83 comments. When Matt and Stacy got home, Bryce came up to their room to talk. He took a shot right to the heart, and that sent him into cardiac arrest.. After going for so long without oxygen, at least some brain damage was inevitable. Three years? He was fired from the Independence Police Department after the encounter. But in the summer of 2014, Bryce started having run-ins with the local police. Call their office. The NAACP forwarded our bill to members of Congress, and we distributed it to members of the Congressional Black Caucus and other progressive members of Congress. During the otherwise unobjectionable story, Runnels said he and his friends decided to switch tactics and try nigger hunting instead. Bryce Masters and his family at their home on June 2, 2016. Matt retained his friend and former police officer Daniel Haus as the family attorney, and hecalled the FBI to request an investigation. Runnels walked toward the passenger side door. It was daylight outside, and in the distance ahead, they could see Bryces gray Pontiac driving along as Runnelss cruiser followed far behind. Thats what happened; there was no other plausible explanation. Matt sees the good in what Tasers can do, under the right circumstances. I felt like he would have cared for an injured animal better., I will never get over the fact that he put his foot on Bryces back, while he was literally dying, she said. Matt is a 19-year veteran of the Kansas City Police Department with a slew of warrior-cop credentials. The audio kicked in at that point, and the cruisers door opened. 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. Although Runnels was no longer a police officer, and the Masters were confident they had a civil case against the Independence Police Department, criminal charges seemed unlikely. Warning: This video contains graphic scenes of police violence. and manufacturers. Our state version of the MBOPRA is currently in committee in the Kansas legislature. He said hed once been funny and quick-witted, and could fit in with lots of different groups. Hes not breathing.Matt hung up and hit the gas. Judge Whipple issued the sentence, which will be followed by two years of supervised release. He started to see the holes in excited delirium as a catch-all for Taser-related deaths. He wanted to prove himself, but he didnt know any of the details. He had done exactly what his parents told him to do. 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. As part of his guilty plea, Runnels admitted that, while he . At that point, Matt and Stacy were not at all worried about Bryces safety. The first news reports about the incident included comments from a spokesperson who said Bryce was stopped for an outstanding warrant, and that he refused to follow the officers commands. So Runnels grabbed him by the armsand pulled him, with the boys legs dragging on the ground between Runnels shuffling feet, toward the side of the road. About an hour later, a colleague called Matt; two FBI agents assigned to investigate police misconduct were already looking for him. I read Zipes study, and it just blew me away, Matt remembered. Taser puncture marks on Bryce Masterss chest and torso, Sept. 15, 2014. Runnels, who was fired from the Independence Police Department after his encounter with Masters, pleaded guilty in 2015 to a single deprivation of rights charge and was sentenced to four years in prison. It is estimated that someone is murdered in Texas every seven hours. 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. However, the future he once imagined for himself was now likely out of reach. He took a shot right to the heart, and that sent him into cardiac arrest.. Officer Timothy Runnels flagged Bruce Master in 2014, but the incident led to the boy's cardiac arrest and long physical and emotional recovery after Runnels tasered him. Government officials enjoy broad protection against federal lawsuits, but a federal appeals court last week refused to extend it to an Independence police officer who was tagged with a $6.5 million jury verdict in a police brutality case. People tell me Im different, he admitted to the crowd. KANSAS CITY, MO Video released on Monday shows a new view of the moment a police officer used a taser on a teenager. Call every week. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ketchmark informed Matt that the policies and case law pertaining to Taser use routinely justified broad uses of the weapons uses that Matt now considered dangerous. Eventually, Bryce went back to sleep. He tells Bryce to get out but doesnt give a reason. Later, when they got home and Bryce described what had happened, something about the arrest didnt seem right. Timothy Runnels now . State police reinvestigated the case and found that a deputy who originally gave sworn testimony that Sanford drew an accurate diagram of the crime scene, later contradicted that testimony, the prosecutors offices statement said. Bryce Masters used his mobile phone to record his encounter with Officer Timothy Runnels on September 14, 2014. Matt began calling all the law enforcement contacts he could, trying to figure out what might have happened. It was unbearable for Matt. He politely let them know that Bryce was doing OK, leaving details unsaid. He was born on May 27, 1947 in Bloomingburg, Ohio to Clarence and Rebecca Wyatt Runnels. The Kansas City Star INDEPENDENCE, Mo. Copyright 2023 Police1. At least three were sheared in half and several others badly chipped. But his anxiety those first few months made such issues much more debilitating. The Runnels case is unusual not just because it represents the rare instance of a policeman successfully sued for damages. As Stacy walked into Centerpoints trauma center, nurses ushered her to where Bryce was hooked up to a ventilator, still unconscious. His face was swollen, and they later found out that his jaw was likely dislocated, but popped back into place. A former Independence police officer has been sentenced to serve four years in prison after violating the rights of a 17-year-old boy during a traffic stop.Timothy Runnels used a Taser on Bryce . That is so whether the tasing comes in the form of multiple, separate deployments or, as in this case, a single, continuous deployment that lasts for an extended period of time., Kirk Presley, Masters attorney, hailed the courts ruling, saying it relied on established precedent that excessive force is always unconstitutional., In fact, the jury found that defendant Runnels continued Taser trigger pull was intentional and malicious, Presley said in an email. He suffered brain damage and the road ahead will not be easy for him. Matt was furious. Chiropractor Timothy Runnels D.C. Dr. Timothy D. Runnels grew up in Houston. KCUR serves the Kansas City region with breaking news and powerful storytelling. But, deep down, she understood what Bryce was up against. How he dragged the near-unconscious boy away from the dashcam and then callously dropped him so that his face hit theconcrete sidewalk is sickening. Bryce was carrying a small amount of marijuana in a baggie. Hobbs asked that the judge recommend that he be placed in a prison facility as close to Kansas City as possible. Timothy Runnels electrocuted the teen for 23 seconds during traffic stop, more than four times longer than cops are . He wasnt just alive he was demonstrating awareness. Look for a box or option labeled Home Page (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari) or On Startup (Chrome). He told them a plea agreement had been finalized. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department's 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 He achieved his Bachelor of Science in Psychology at the University of Houston, and afterward pursued his chiropractic Doctorate at the Texas Chiropractic College. Runnels improper use of the Taser caused Bryce's heart to stop for eight minutes. I felt like he would have cared for an injured animal better.. Runnels said that 400 to 500 workers came in Monday to finish restoring power to the some 400 customers who were still without power Monday after the storm had initially knocked out electric . Following a five-day trial in December 2018, a jury awarded Masters $5 million in actual damages and $1.5 million in punitive damages, including $500,000 for prolonged use of the Taser and $1,000,000 for the pavement drop. The cop was like, You want to mess with me, and pulled out his Taser and tased him, witness Michelle Baker recalled after recording a, shortly after the incident. Single tears began to run down his face, but his pain was a good sign. The practitioner's primary taxonomy code is 111N00000X with license number 9478 (TX). A jury found police officer Runnels used excessive force against Masters during a traffic stop. Nah, that cant even happen, he remembered saying. Because youre only as good as the training.. In my heart of hearts, I felt like he was slipping away, she said. 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. As a cop, though, he couldnt escape the thought that Bryce had somehow provoked him. Cops do make bad decisions. North Houston Spine and Sports Medicine 5643 Treaschwig Road Spring TX 77373 Work Phone: 832-934-9373 Website: North Houston Spine and Sports Medicine. The video showing what OfficerTimothy Runnelsdid to the teenager is almost unwatchable. Timothy Runnels was arraigned Friday in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Missouri, on two counts apiece of deprivation of civil rights and of obstruction of justice in connection with the Sept. 14 confrontation with 17-year-old Bryce Masters of Independence, a Kansas City suburb where Runnels worked. More specifically, Matt learned that on October 12, 2009, Taser International, the Scottsdale, Arizona-based maker of conducted electrical weapons, released a training bulletin suggesting that officers should avoid shooting suspects in the chest whenever possible. 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. They were overcome with the fear that his heart was still weak enough, or his brain damaged in some unexpected way, that he could die in his sleep. You could see blood coming out of his mouth. 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. Taser International Inc. headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona. Interment will follow in the Largent Cemetery. Being a convicted felon and losing the only career he ever aspired to was a significant punishment for Runnels, Hobbs said. Facebook gives people the power. Lexipol. In the video you see Runnels opening the driver's door telling Masters to get out. He wondered what he could repair, and if he was ever going to be the same. 2021) Annotate this Case Court Description: [Kelly, Author, with Colloton and Melloy, Circuit Judges] Civil Case - Civil Rights Act. One punctured his chest, to the right of his midsection. The Masters werent expecting to see the dashcam video that day, but shortly after court adjourned, Ketchmark invited them to a conference room. Copyright 2023 The officer pushed him against the car and began digging through his pockets. In addition to being a police officer, Martin also trained young boxers at a local gym. The conversation was still fresh in Bryces mind on September 14 when Officer Runnels pulled him over. Matt had been there before, a guy laughing in the room at the helpless contortions of Taser victims. Police officers are not above the law and will be held accountable when they violate the civil rights of the citizens they are sworn to protect and serve.. Matt wasnt sure what this was supposed to mean and wasnt present when the incident happened, but word spread quickly about the foul-mouthed cop who was written up on the spot for nonchalantly using a racial slur during a gathering of officers. Dont give me that bullshit, he now thought. Until that point, the Masters had no idea how long Bryce had actually been tased. He was waiting to learnhis fateafter pleading guilty to a federal crime he committed almost two years ago, on September 14, 2014. So the record clearly supported a denial of qualified immunity.. The week of September 7, 2015, the Masters got a phone call from Ketchmark. After serving his sentence, Runnels will be placed on supervised release for two years. He didnt understand why we wanted to go so early, and he threw a fit, Matt said. A federal judge on Monday released the police dashcam video that shows former Independence Police Officer Timothy N. Runnels using excessive force in arresting then-17-year-old Bryce Masters. Matt and Stacy would check on him as he slept, just to make sure he was still breathing. (A member of Runnelss defense team, asked for comment, said he had no information about his clients departurefrom the Kansas City Police Department. Do Not Sell My Personal Information, If you need further help setting your homepage, check your browsers Help menu, New police chief hired at N.C. PD after entire police force resigned, 'It's a blessing': 24-year-old takes helm as N.C. police chief, Video: Bystander pins down drunk driver fleeing crash that killed a Texas police officer, SIG Sauer's ROMEO-M17: The future of the Red Dot revolution is here, 'You're going to die today': Driver traps Fla. cop inside car while speeding toward power pole, Open the tools menu in your browser. He was especially concerned about officers trained before 2009, who may have never been re-trained on updated information. Meanwhile, Independence police officials were intent on controlling the story. Matt wondered: If Dr. Augustin was right, and the Taser caused Bryces cardiac arrest, why hadnt he known about the risks? On one occasion, he said, he was out bowling when two officers approached him and sarcastically asked how he was doing. As Bryce lay prone in the street, Runnels continued to deploy the Taser. 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. Officer Timothy Runnels was waiting to learn his fate after pleading guilty to a federal crime he committed almost two years ago, on September 14, 2014. What did I do? It was hard to accept that a police officer, someone he was taught to trust, could injure him so grievously. And I am., After almost 20 years as a cop, it had become easy for Matt to split the world into good guys and bad guys. A measure of. ', , that never see the inside of a courtroom, What's a cop to do when his son is beaten bloody by another cop? After getting the phone call from Ketchmark, Matt and Stacy talked about what type of punishment would feel like justice to them. Bryce Masters awake at Centerpoint Medical Center, Independence, Missouri, Sept. 17, 2014. Timothy Runnels, 32, previously pleaded guilty. Former Independence, Mo., police officer Timothy Runnels was sentenced Wednesday to 4 years in prison for violating the constitutional rights of a minor who was in his custody. The past 20 months have been emotionally and physically exhausting, the statement said. Matt had heard that people sometimes died after a Taser shock, but chalked it up to a syndrome called excited delirium, which hed learned about in his Taser training. His skin was pale, and his lips were light blue. 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