He no longer had the ability to adequately control feelings of anger, frustration, depression, and anxiety. The driver was then-17-year-old Bryce Masters. The jury. Runnels grabbed his Taser from his belt and pointed it at Bryce, who repeatedly asked what he was being pulled over for. In another incident, a police cruiser blocked him in; a few nights later he was pulled over. Then he pulled him out of the car, handcuffed him, and drug him around the car. Tasers told everybody, If youve got to put your hands on somebody, why? "Well, you better learn how to fight before you start challenging people," Martin reportedly told him at the time. It was a war of attrition. Bryce has vague memories of that Wednesday night. The case status is Pending - Other Pending. Bryce Masters used his mobile phone to record his encounter with Officer Timothy Runnels on September 14, 2014. Curtis told them it was one of the cops who had stopped them earlier that summer. He was shot 21 times in the back and seven times about the body. Why dont cops know all this? Certainly some did, but for all the years Matt had carried a Taser, he didnt know. Timothy Runnels, a 32-year-old former Independence, Missouri, police officer, sat at a large, rectangular defense table inside Courtroom 8B at the Charles Evans Whittaker Federal Courthouse in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, late last month. As Matt and Stacy were getting ready to leave the house, Curtis called back again. 2021) Annotate this Case Court Description: [Kelly, Author, with Colloton and Melloy, Circuit Judges] Civil Case - Civil Rights Act. Matt and Stacy didnt sleep at all that first night. You see whats happening here, Matt told them. And, to this day, were what, 15 years later since its hit the vast majority of departments, thats still the narrative.. A snapping thud filled the room the sound of Bryces 175-pound frame hitting the pavement as his teeth crashed together and his jaw dislocated. The police kept referencing an outstanding warrant, but unless there was a ticket Mattdidnt know about, Bryces license was valid and his car had been registered to Matt and Stacy for over three years. The Masters werent expecting to see the dashcam video that day, but shortly after court adjourned, Ketchmark invited them to a conference room. Timothy Runnels Bryce Masters v. Timothy Runnels, No. About an hour later, a colleague called Matt; two FBI agents assigned to investigate police misconduct were already looking for him. Copyright 2023 finds relevant news, identifies important training information, The best result we found for your search is Timothy Glynn Runnels age 60s in Atmore, AL. He had to have done something.. Runnels grabbedBryces cellphone, throwing it in front of the car, demanding that he get on the ground. Matt imagined the stop every day. His attorney, J.R. Hobbs, asked Whipple to place Runnels on probation. See, I was somewhere around 8 or 9 years old when I saw my brother abusing one of our dogs. 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. This article was reported in partnership with The Investigative Fund at The Nation Institute. His mom, Stacy, folded her arms, clutching a tissue. When asked if he still has faith in the system, considering that Runnels is one of the rare officers to face criminal punishment for using excessive force, Matt shakes his head no. The FBI arrived within the hour. Bryce wasnt fighting anybody.. As if possessed, Bryce slowly got out of the car and lay down on the pavement at Runnelss feet. The story became notorious among Kansas City cops. The case status is Pending - Other Pending. Bryce, bettersit up, he said. Matt thinks back to his initial training in 2004, when he was assured that the weapons electric current would notcause death. But he also believes Runnelss argument that he didnt know that Tasers couldcause cardiac arrest. Matt also had to endure half a dozen funny Taser videos between slides. My brother is 8 years older. (According to police spokesperson Capt. "The department remains committed to ensuring that police officers who violate their sworn oaths by using excessive force are held accountable," said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Gupta. Two years? For the next 24 hours, he would be in limbo as his brain tried to heal itself. According to a press release from the FBI, Runnels had deprived the minor of his civil rights by deliberately dropping the minor face first onto the ground while the minor was restrained and not posing a threat to Runnels or others. A court date was set for September 11, almost a year after Runnels tased Bryce. I can hear you, Bryce said. During the third week of March in 2015, Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Ketchmark informed the Masters that Runnels was going to face a grand jury. Timothy Runnels, 32, previously pleaded guilty to violating the civil rights of 17-year-old Bryce Masters. But in more recent comments to a state investigator, Tolbert said that he drew the crime scene and Sanford only drew the bodies. He took a shot right to the heart, and that sent him into cardiac arrest.. It was clear he had vomited. Why risk getting hurt? Taser International Inc. headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona. A twenty-three second jolt of 50,000 watts ended his life for a short time resulting in irreparable brain damage. They couldnt believe he was up walking in less than a week. Wake up, guy, the officer said. Bryce didnt budge. President Obama signed into a law a small piece of our bill in December 2014. The video and other evidence presented at the sentencing demonstrates that Runnels then deliberately dropped the handcuffed victim face-first into the pavement. The other punctured several inches below and slightly left of his heart. He was a 1965 Former Officer Timothy Runnels was sentenced last week to four years in prison over the September 2014 incident. By signing up, I agree to receive emails from The Intercept and to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. _____________________________________________________________. 2. 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. The team members would receive their 2015 World Series rings that afternoon, so Matt and Stacy got Bryce up mid-morning. They wanted to spend the day down by the ballpark as a family. 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. Dont give me that bullshit, he now thought. She told the Masters that Bryce had scored a three. Runnels also was indicted on charges of depriving Masters of his civil rights under color of law and obstruction of justice. You dont just get tased, Matt remembered thinking. He was waiting to learnhis fateafter pleading guilty to a federal crime he committed almost two years ago, on September 14, 2014. 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.. Tasers told everybody, If youve got to put your hands on somebody, why? He knows there are manydeserving cases, especially involving minority victims, that never see the inside of a courtroom. Top 3 Results for Timothy Runnels. Unfazed, Bryce leaned his 6-foot-1-inch frame forward, his eyes focused on the makeshift projector. The Taser did this. The dashcam video showed officerssearching through Bryces vehicle asBryce was carted off in an ambulance. Bryce had other plans. Runnelss crime, depriving a minor of his civil rights, occurred when he dropped the dying 17-year-old boy on his face. I dont think Ill ever, ever be able to forget that., As hard as it was to watch, Bryce felt vindicated. But Taser International has latched onto the diagnosis as a way to explain many deaths that occur after someone has been shocked with a Taser. How many covert wars, miscarriages of justice, and dystopian technologies would remain hidden if our reporters werent on the beat? He said hed once been funny and quick-witted, and could fit in with lots of different groups. Matt was irate, screaming, You bunch of fucking cowboys! at the officers assembled to gather evidence. hide. All rights reserved. They turned the ventilator off, but left the breathing tube in just in case Bryce failed to breathe on his own. As Bryce lay prone in the street, Runnels continued to deploy the Taser. Two law enforcement families were devastated by these events and we all simply wish that day had never happened.. While the majority of law enforcement safeguards our communities with fidelity, the department will continue to vigorously investigate and prosecute officers who violate their oath by using excessive force., This former police officer was trained and entrusted to enforce the law impartially, said U.S. Attorney Dickinson. We need White people of good conscience to join the fight against police cruelty and unlawful behavior. 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. Copyright 2023 Bryce will forget that an event has occurred, and then get irritated with his parents for reminding him that it has. The judge read the count, and Runnels sat on the stand facing the crowd as he accepted the plea. He suffered brain damage and the road ahead will not be easy for him. Its the only thing we need, Matt remembered an agent telling him. Toward the end of Runnels sentencing hearing on May 26, Bryce stepped to the front of the courtroom to give his victim impact statement. Lack of training? It was deliberate, cold, and devoid of empathy or humanity. Since then, he has trained at the Moody Health Center, become . Young Bryce Masters is still recovering from the injuries he sustained at the hands of Timothy Funnels. Later in the evening, as things quieted down, Dr. Augustin arrived to check on Bryce. INDEPENDENCE, Mo. 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. Dont use it on suspects who are just passively resisting. I get a lot of sympathy from my black cop friends, like, this is what weve been saying about cops for a long, long time.'. Bryce admits now that, given a potential lifetime of frustration, the thought crossed his mind. "These outages are minimal compared to what we saw today," Runnels said . What happened to my teeth? he asked repeatedly. Timothy Runnels, a 32-year-old former Independence, Missouri, police officer, sat at a large, rectangular defense table inside Courtroom 8B at the Charles Evans Whittaker Federal Courthouse in. By Sunday, Bryce was ready to leave the hospital. The past 20 months have been emotionally and physically exhausting, the statement said. His colleagues chuckled as suspects screamed and cops stood heroically at a distance, pumping them with electricity. During a sentencing hearing before Senior U.S. District Court Judge Dean Whipple of the Western District of Missouri, the government provided evidence that Runnels deployed his taser into the minors chest during a traffic stop and then caused the electric current to run for approximately 20 seconds, four times longer than officers are trained to deploy a taser. The Independence Police Department did not respond to a request for comment. 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. Hobbs asked that the judge recommend that he be placed in a prison facility as close to Kansas City as possible. The lesson, Matt, is that it shouldnt have to take the near killing of your loved onefor you to acknowledge the pain and suffering of your fellow man. One barb lodged in his chest and another in his abdomen. Eventually, they asked him how Bryce was doing. Id never heard of excited delirium until Taser International came along.. "The department remains committed to ensuring that police officers who violate their sworn oaths by using excessive force are held accountable," said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Gupta. One woman looked down and covered her eyes with her hand. He was completely immobilized, the ventilator still in place, but he was making eye contact with his mom and dad. A measure of justice for Bryce. The sentencing hearingbegan with a surprise. Bryce and his two siblings remained in the Independence school system. Do Not Sell My Personal Information. In the video you see Runnels opening the driver's door telling Masters to get out. 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. The only thing the public knew waswhat had been reported, and what had been reported was that he resisted a lawful arrest, and his car smelled like marijuana. . Matt Masters does not agree that the Taser use was reasonable, but he agrees it was common police practice. Dr. Timothy Runnels. 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