. On one occasion, he said, he was out bowling when two officers approached him and sarcastically asked how he was doing. His fingers and toes were curled inward, and his arms bent at near 90-degree angles toward his chest. Matt, Stacy, and Bryce sat around an oval conference table with their attorney Daniel Haus, a few FBI agents, an attorney from the Department of Justice, and Ketchmark. Bryce Masters used his mobile phone to record his encounter with Officer Timothy Runnels on September 14, 2014. In the video, Runnels pulls Bryce over and approaches the car. Eventually, Bryce went back to sleep. Ebola has killed about 9000 people in total; Republican governors kill 23,000 people PER YEARby refusing federal support for Medicaid, a story ignored by traditional media. Later, a different spokesperson would tell KCTV that the use of the Taser was in policy. Runnelss name wasnt initially released. First responders revived him, but he suffered hypoxia or oxygen deficiency to the brain. In November 2014, Bryces case was back in the news with reports thatRunnels had left the Independence police force. Runnels needed to be held accountable for his actions, and they were disappointed the government accepted a plea deal based on only one of the charges. All rights reserved. By Monday morning, September 15, Bryces core temperature had reached 92.6 degrees 6degrees below normal. . It was easier for himto view Runnelss actions as an error of judgment exacerbated by ignorance. In a highly publicized Canadian inquiry into the 2007 Taser-related death of Robert Dziekanski in the Vancouver International Airport, a police psychologist accused the company of using the mythical disorder as a way to justify ridiculously inappropriate Taser use by police officers. Be careful shooting fleeing suspects. The answer didnt make sense to Matt. But he doesnt trust the company selling them. I still get what cops go through, the decision-making process, the damned if you do, damned if you dont process, Matt said. Copyright 2023 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. theintercept.com Tased in the Chest for 23 Seconds, Dead for 8 Minutes, Now Facing a Lifetime of Recovery Unfazed, Bryce leaned his 6-foot-1-inch frame forward, his eyes focused on the makeshift projector. 735. His chin was split open. I remember thinking, Oh my God. 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. It was unbearable for Matt. Two law enforcement families were devastated by these events and we all simply wish that day had never happened.. If thats my right, why would I let some cop try to take it away?, Matt felt betrayed. Funnels would have shot him outright and or the response team may not have been as thorough. 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. Then with the teens arms handcuffed behind him, Runnels dropped the teens limp body face-first onto the pavement. 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. He was recording the interaction with his cellphone. Runnels stepped back, stood straight, took a shooting position, and again grabbed his Taser from its holster. Matt was furious. 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. He can recall family and friends coming in to offer their support, standing around his bed. 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 Taser discharge, meanwhile, caused Masters to suffer a convulsion and go into cardiac arrest. Timothy Runnels now . Matt began calling all the law enforcement contacts he could, trying to figure out what might have happened. Matt peppered the FBI agents with questions during that first meeting, but he didnt receive many answers. Timothy Runnels, et al Case Summary On 06/17/2019 Bryce Masters filed a Civil Right - Other Civil Right lawsuit against Timothy Runnels ,. Finally, she asked one of the nurses. Once Bryce learned to drive again, Independence squad cars followed him several times, sometimes even pulling up next to him so the officers could smirk or wave. If he did wake up, there was a good chance he would never recover beyond a vegetative state. He wasnt just alive he was demonstrating awareness. The agents arrived quickly and started taking pictures of Bryces mouth. Bryce Masters and his family at their home on June 2, 2016. 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. Curtis thought Matt should probably come by to make sure everything was all right. 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. The ticking sound of the Taser continued. Toward the end of Runnels sentencing hearing on May 26, Bryce stepped to the front of the courtroom to give his victim impact statement. Organize a group to go to a meeting with your congressperson. Copyright 2023 Police1. Bryce Masters used his mobile phone to record his encounter with Officer Timothy Runnels on September 14, 2014. Daily Kos moves in solidarity with the Black community. Then hell get depressed at the idea that he needs to be reminded about something that just happened. Am I under arrest? The memories he had formedover 17 years, many of the things he thought made him who he was, no longer applied. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. The Supreme Court has said that the doctrine is necessary to give officers breathing room to make reasonable but mistaken judgments. Without it, according to the court, the possible threat of personal liability would make them overly timid and discourage people from entering public service. Timothy Runnels was sentenced to four years behind bars for the 2014 . Their immediate concern was why a police officer would use one on their son. Just shoot them with the Taser, and its over and done with, Mattsaid. The agents would confirm only that there was a dashcam video of the incident. Bryces only mistake in this situation was following his parents advice to ask questions, particularly to ask why if stopped by law enforcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Ketchmark argued that the length of time that Runnels held down the Tasers trigger was an aggravating factor. (Sept. 14, 2014) Why risk getting hurt? Bryce Masters in a coma at Centerpoint Medical Center, Independence, Missouri, Sept. 16, 2014. The Independence Police Department was hardest on him. Matt couldnt see any probable cause. Its a miracle hes alive.. Five years later on September 14, 2014 it would be difficult to argue that Runnels was unable to avoid shooting Bryce in the chest. His bike was stolen, and Ali told a police officer, Joe Martin, that he wanted to beat up the thief. 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 . 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. Stacy and Matt cried as Bryce fought. Instead of putting faith in my own son, I put faith in that Runnels was a cop and that he knew what he was doing, and that he was a professional., Matt had such visceral feelings of loyalty and camaraderie toward his fellow officers that hed previously been comforted by the assumption Bryce was somehow at least partially culpable for what happened to him. Matt Masters does not agree that the Taser use was reasonable, but he agrees it was common police practice. They sat on the right side, with Runnelss family and friends on the left. _____________________________________________________________. Wednesday afternoon, Bryces eyes began to scan his room inside the intensive care unit. But there was no charge for the initial Taser deployment. He didnt understand why we wanted to go so early, and he threw a fit, Matt said. 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 . Runnels faced a dire sentence that day up to 10 years in federal prison. I knew, whenever I woke up, that I didnt feel right, he said. These are classic signs of a brain injury., What Id seen with his posturing made me want to look away, Stacy said. Mrs. Runnels had resided in Hudson most of her life. Tasers told everybody, If youve got to put your hands on somebody, why? One punctured his chest, to the right of his midsection. Copyright 2023 Baristas at two Kansas City-area Starbucks locations plan to unionize. Matt was irate, screaming, You bunch of fucking cowboys! at the officers assembled to gather evidence. Case Details Parties Documents Dockets Case Details Case Number: 19-2199 Filing Date: Today's story doesn't involve a Taser related death. Timothy is related to Carolyn Ann Runnels . Instead of getting angry at his fellow officers, though, Matt felt sympathy for them. Runnels may not have known it at the time, but Bryce was going into cardiac arrest. Weve been fooled by a company that has made millions and millions of dollars off of the police departments.. Today the video, which had never been played in any public setting, would be played in open court. report. It looked like he hit his head on the concrete. Joining is simple and doesnt need to cost a lot: You can become a sustaining member for as little as $3 or $5 a month. They still didnt know how bad the damage was, but at least Bryce recognized his parents. While Taser International has updated its material to mention potential cardiac risks (as well as several other ways the weapons can cause injury or death), Matt sees that as mere fine print that neither the company nor many officers take seriously. Runnels had resigned from the Kansas City department under threat of termination in 2010. 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. Nah, that cant even happen, he remembered saying. You can receive all future diariesof Support the Dream Defenders in your Daily KosStreamby clickinghere. We need White people of good conscience to join the fight against police cruelty and unlawful behavior. Eventually, they asked him how Bryce was doing. Outraged, Stacy called the station and demanded to speak to the officers involved. When Matt watches his son suffer, he sees the marriage of a police culture that is too eager to blindly justify force and a company shrewd enough to take advantage. I cant tell you what is on there, Stacy remembered one agent telling them. And, to this day, were what, 15 years later since its hit the vast majority of departments, thats still the narrative.. Worse, they were afraid his emotional vulnerability would cause him to take his own life. 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. Any positive reviews previously submitted about Dr. Timothy D Runnels, DC will appear here. Stacy wanted to take responsibility for dealing with the medical staff, and the downtime gave Matt an opportunity to focus on the investigation. View the profiles of people named Timothy Runnels. We need cops of good conscience to join the fight against their murderous brethren. As the video openswe seea gray Pontiac enter the frame, and Bryces dad, Matt, put his hand on his sons knee. The 8th U.S. The new officer referred to Bryce, lying there stationary. But, deep down, she understood what Bryce was up against. As part of his guilty plea, Runnels admitted that while he was employed as an officer of the Independence Police Department, he 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. 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. More importantly, if there was no warrant associated with Bryce or his car, why was he stopped in the first place? The companys use of the condition in public statements and court testimony is controversial as well. Its sickening to me to listen to Taser even speak, Matt continues. 2021) Annotate this Case Court Description: [Kelly, Author, with Colloton and Melloy, Circuit Judges] Civil Case - Civil Rights Act. Bryce would spend several hours cooling down, stay cooled for a minimum of 24 hours, and then be slowly warmed back up. Officer Timothy Runnels stopped Bryce Masters, 17, in the Kansas City suburb of Independence, Missouri, on Sept. 14, 2014 because Masters was driving a car owned by a woman with an outstanding. A measure of justice for Bryce. The audio was initially silent. Runnelss crime, depriving a minor of his civil rights, occurred when he dropped the dying 17-year-old boy on his face. For Stacy, though, the worst part was looking at his limbs. A twenty-three second jolt of 50,000 watts ended his life for a short time resulting in irreparable brain damage. Lexipol. Judge Whipple issued the sentence, which will be followed by two years of supervised release. Matt had been there before, a guy laughing in the room at the helpless contortions of Taser victims. The week of September 7, 2015, the Masters got a phone call from Ketchmark. Bryce refused. While he still values the profession, his newfound empathy made him more aware of the real damage some officers inflict. A friend at the Independence police station called Matt to tell him his son had just been arrested. Independence is bigger than it seems with about 117,000 residents, the fourth-largest city in the state but still has the feel of a tight-knit, middle-class community. Cops do fuck up. But Bryce wasnt moving. Hes got his hand up on his car, his shades on, and hes looking pleased with himself, Stacy said. An officer may not continue to tase a person who is no longer resisting, threatening or fleeing, Circuit Judge Jane L. Kelly wrote on behalf of a three-judge panel of the court. 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. "These outages are minimal compared to what we saw today," Runnels said . 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. 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. The Taser did this. The more they discussed the question, the more sobering it became. The Department of Justice included parts of our law in their reports on Ferguson, Missouri, in 2015. Bryce Masters at his home on June 2, 2016. He was wrong. Do Not Sell My Personal Information. He would feel his mouth and turn to his parents. Instead, today's story involves an over-zealous cop whose use of a Taser caused irreparable harm to a teenager who had committed no offense. He knows there are manydeserving cases, especially involving minority victims, that never see the inside of a courtroom. Dr. Stanley Augustin, the chief trauma surgeon, joined the conversation. Bryce began to moan.You dont like to play by the rules, do you, Runnels said. 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. Matt called the FBI agents he met on Monday. His face was swollen, and they later found out that his jaw was likely dislocated, but popped back into place. Roughly every 30minutes that night, Bryce would forget what happened to him. 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.. 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