A Missouri police officer working off-duty safety within the Kansas Metropolis suburb of Westport now faces each prison costs and a civil lawsuit after a bystander captured video of him kneeing a restrained man within the neck throughout an arrest in July 2024.
Kansas Metropolis Officer Christopher Showalter was indicted final week by a Jackson County grand jury on a misdemeanor fourth-degree assault cost.
Based on court docket paperwork, Showalter allegedly brought about “bodily ache” to the sufferer, William Michael Hardy, by “slamming his face/chin in opposition to the concrete sidewalk and kneeing him within the face/chin whereas the sufferer was handcuffed and mendacity on his abdomen.”
If convicted, he may withstand a 12 months in jail and a high quality of as much as $2,000. Showalter is scheduled to be arraigned on Tuesday, July 15.
The incident occurred close to the intersection of West fortieth Road and Pennsylvania Avenue on July 6, 2024. Hardy was driving his bicycle into Westport’s leisure district when officers stopped him. Showalter’s report claims police had ordered Hardy to cease as he approached a screening space. Nevertheless, a civil lawsuit filed by Hardy final month disputes that account, stating that no barricades have been blocking the road on the time.
Bystander video of the assault, reposted by the Kansas Metropolis Star on Instagram, seems to indicate Hardy already restrained when Showalter delivered the knee strike. Within the footage, a bystander reacts in disbelief, exclaiming, “What? What the [expletive] was that for?”
The aftermath of the arrest despatched Hardy to the hospital with a laceration to his chin. His lawsuit, filed in Jackson County Circuit Courtroom, alleges assault, battery, and false imprisonment. It additionally names Chesley Brown Worldwide, the personal safety agency that employed Showalter, as a co-defendant, claiming the corporate is responsible for the officer’s actions and didn’t correctly supervise him.
Hardy’s authorized workforce contends Showalter forcibly eliminated him from his bicycle with out trigger, escalating the encounter unnecessarily. Whereas the Kansas Metropolis Police Division shouldn’t be named within the lawsuit, KCPD spokeswoman Officer Alayna Gonzalez advised The Kansas Metropolis Star the division doesn’t typically touch upon pending litigation “to make sure equity to all sides.” Questions concerning the indictment have been referred to the Jackson County prosecutor’s workplace.
