For greater than two years, Kansas prosecutors claimed that Topeka police shot and killed a Black man named Taylor Lowery as a result of he got here charging at them with a knife, making them worry for his or her lives.
However that was confirmed to be a lie after physique digicam footage of the taking pictures was launched to his household final week.
The footage exhibits Lowery was solely holding a wrench and was backing away from officers after they opened fireplace, taking pictures him 34 instances on Oct. 13, 2022, leaving him with 41 bullet wounds as a result of a number of the bullets left a number of accidents.
It was solely after the 33-year-old man lay dying in entrance of a fuel station that they realized he was holding a wrench, not a knife – which was mendacity solely inches away from the cops as they opened fireplace.
However, a Topeka police officer lied to Lowery’s sister when she confirmed up on the scene, distraught and crying over the taking pictures dying of her brother.
“He tried to assault us with that knife,” the cop informed her.
And Topeka police and metropolis attorneys maintained that false narrative for greater than two years, together with the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and the Shawnee County District Legal professional’s Workplace, refusing to launch the physique digicam footage underneath the guise that “it isn’t within the public’s curiosity” to view the video.
It was not till a federal Justice of the Peace decide ordered the discharge of the footage in December as a part of a wrongful dying lawsuit filed in August that the household was capable of launch the movies to the media, exposing the lies that the federal government had dished out for greater than two years.
“They gave repeated instructions to drop the knife,” mentioned Melissa Underwood after the taking pictures in a press release to the media she is a spokesperson for the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, the state company that investigates officer-involved shootings.
“Lowery then superior towards officers holding the knife. In the course of the incident, 5 officers from TPD fired, placing Lowery a number of instances.”
That false narrative was maintained by Shawnee County District Legal professional Michael F. Kagay, who cleared the cops of wrongdoing and launched a 15-page report with redactions explaining his choice, claiming Lowery took a “combating stance” towards the cops.
Kagay additionally wrote in his report that an post-mortem revealed that Lowery had been underneath the affect of methamphetamine, amphetamine and cocaine.
“They obtained out of their automobile, recognized themselves as police and commenced yelling instructions to Lowery,” the district lawyer’s report states.
“Lowery turned in direction of Sgt. (title redacted), raised the knife above his head, and commenced charging. Each Det. (Redacted) and Sgt. (redacted) had their obligation weapons out and commenced firing at Lowery.”
Topeka Metropolis Legal professional Amanda Stanley additionally went together with the lie, refusing to launch the movies to native media as a result of she claimed it might “not be within the public’s curiosity,” in accordance with the Topeka Capital-Journal.
And now that the lies have been uncovered, attorneys for the cops have filed a movement towards one of many attorneys representing the Lowery household, a Black lady named LaRonna Lassiter Saunders, for releasing the physique digicam movies to the household, regardless of the decide’s order.
The attorneys, Jeffrey Kuhlman and Nicholas Jefferson are demanding that Saunders “be publicly admonished and face different repercussions,” in accordance with the Kansas Reflector.
The Reflector states Decide Mitchell’s order to launch the footage additionally “blocked public launch of personally identifiable info of sure witnesses and segments of video containing pictures of minors.”
“Third events have clearly reviewed confidential parts of the footage that was topic to the protecting order,” the movement states, in accordance with the Reflector.
Watch the video under, which doesn’t embrace these confidential parts:
The Fact Comes Out
It was not till Dec. 13 that Federal Justice of the Peace Decide Angel D. Mitchell ordered the discharge of the footage as a part of discovery within the pending lawsuit towards the Topeka Police Division.
Da’Mabrius Duncan, the mom of Lowery’s baby and administrator of his property who filed the lawsuit, mentioned the taking pictures and the following cover-up have left her distrustful of police.
“Why didn’t they deal with the scenario higher than they did?” she mentioned in an interview with Kansas Reflector.
“Simply why? Why do they lie? Why did they use my baby’s father as a goal apply? Why ought to I’ve my belief in you guys if you guys can’t even inform the reality?”
“There’s been conditions the place we wanted to name the police, however, you recognize, I simply don’t belief them,” she mentioned. “I don’t see them the identical. I don’t really feel that I’m protected.”
The lawsuit has since been amended with the names of the officers, together with Malcolm Gillum, Justin Good, Bradley Netherton, and Sgt. Scott McEntire and Detective Alex Wall.
“Lowery was not dealing with Officer Gillum or Officer Netherton, didn’t pose a risk to the Officer Defendants and didn’t take any aggressive actions towards Officers previous to discharging their service weapons,” the declare states.
“Upon info and perception, the one bodily contact made with Taylor Lowery was when Sergeant McEntire deliberately bumped Taylor when Taylor was unarmed.”
“Opposite to reviews from and/or statements by the Metropolis of Topeka, upon info and perception, Lowery didn’t elevate a knife above his head and cost the Officer Defendants on the time Officers started discharging their service weapons taking pictures Lowery.”
McEntire and Wall, the primary two cops to reach on the scene who weren’t carrying physique cameras, claimed Lowery was attempting to carjack an individual in entrance of the fuel station, however that isn’t evident in any of the footage.
The Name to Dispatch
Lowery’s sister, who shared a house along with her brother, had known as police for assist, telling the dispatcher her brother had “taken a substance and was not appearing regular,” in accordance with the lawsuit filed by the Denning Legislation Agency.
“In the course of the telephone dialog with the 911 dispatcher, the girl indicated a number of instances that she didn’t need the officers to harm her brother however that she wished him out of her home.”
When the dispatcher requested if her brother was armed, his sister mentioned at first was reluctant to reply as a result of “she didn’t need the officers to shoot him.”
“The 911 dispatcher indicated that will not occur, and the girl acknowledged that her brother was utilizing a knife to attempt to decide a lock to amass her automotive keys.”
“Upon info and perception, the girl by no means indicated that her brother was being violent or threatening anybody with the knife.”
When police arrived on the house, they encountered Lowery holding the knife and wrench, who ran out the again door and hopped right into a black SUV to make his escape.
The prevailing physique digicam footage comes from three officers who arrived on the fuel station after the 2 preliminary officers, who weren’t carrying physique cameras, had chased him from his house. At that time, Lowery had already dropped each the knife and wrench however bent over to choose up the wrench as one of many officers shoved him.
Lowery started to step backward with the wrench in his palms when the officers opened fireplace, killing him. The movies present the knife mendacity on the bottom close to the officers, out of Lowery’s attain.
One of many officers picks the knife up as one of many different officers factors out that Lowery was holding “a socket wrench.”
“Lethal pressure is cheap provided that the officer had possible trigger to consider that the suspect posed a major risk of dying or severe bodily harm to the officer or others,” the declare states.
“There was not possible trigger to consider that Taylor Lowery posed a major risk of dying or severe bodily harm to the officers or others.”
