At that point, Matt and Stacy were not at all worried about Bryces safety. It is well nigh impossible to prove that a black personscivil rights has been violated. Matt had been there before, a guy laughing in the room at the helpless contortions of Taser victims. 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. Matt began calling all the law enforcement contacts he could, trying to figure out what might have happened. He had been assured by instructors, trained by Taser International, that the electric current discharged by the Taser would not cause death. Am I under arrest? Runnels seemed to reconsider using the Taser, holstered it, and then reached into the car, attempting to pull Bryce out. Over the past couple weeks, we havetried to showthat the plague of police brutality is not only an existential threatto Black and Brown Americansbut that under a culture of Comply or Die coupled with aggressive over-policing, nobody is safe. It was unbearable for Matt. Again, Bryce refused. It really should be that if someone with the power to deprive others of life, liberty, and freedom is found to have falsified evidence that resulted in a conviction, then they themselves should be sentenced to the full term that the charge carries. People were just shaking their heads, Stacy said. It was so unnatural.Bryce was unconscious, and no one was telling Stacy he was going to be OK. Shecalled Matt. They have also lived in Milton, FL and Troy, AL. His skin was pale, and his lips were light blue. 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. Officer Runnels will pay a price for his murderous actions. The answer didnt make sense to Matt. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Departments 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 who was in his custody. He has worked on SWAT teams and has been part of Kansas Citys police narcotics unit, taking point on an estimated 1,000 search warrants during one three-year span. I didnt do anything wrong. Still, seeing himself abused like that was surreal. The case status is Pending - Other Pending. He was arrested and charged. Meanwhile, Independence police officials were intent on controlling the story. Photo: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg/Getty Images. But the wounds Bryce suffered from that part of the assault have largely healed. Bryce began to moan.You dont like to play by the rules, do you, Runnels said. As part of his guilty plea, Runnels admitted that, while he . Theyre all crushed or something, he told her. Top 3 Results for Timothy Runnels. 83 comments. Then one morning in August 2014, after spending the night at a friends house in Independence, Bryce walked outside and approached his car, which was parked on the street. Taser International Inc. headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona. I didnt need training to know that what he was doing was very, very wrong. 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. As Bryce lay prone in the street, Runnels continued to deploy the Taser. Timothy Runnels was sentenced to four years behind bars for the 2014 tas Runnels seemed to ignore all this and, as the video shot by a neighbor makes clear, he put his rightfoot onto Bryces back. Select the option or tab named Internet Options (Internet Explorer), Options (Firefox), Preferences (Safari) or Settings (Chrome). Then and only then well see an end to this crap. Since smell is subjective, and difficult to prove, officers can use marijuana odor broadly to justify probable cause, Matt said. It was deliberate, cold, and devoid of empathy or humanity. Runnels may not have known it at the time, but Bryce was going into cardiac arrest. What happened to my teeth? he asked repeatedly. Just shoot them with the Taser, and its over and done with.. As the video openswe seea gray Pontiac enter the frame, and Bryces dad, Matt, put his hand on his sons knee. The Taser did this. You could see blood coming out of his mouth. By the time the Masters arrived, paramedics were on the scene, attending to Bryce. Independence Missouri Police Officer Timothy Runnels thought he had a warrant on his hands. And, to this day, were what, 15 years later since its hit the vast majority of departments, thats still the narrative.. The trial judge, however, denied Runnels motion, and the 8th Circuit last week upheld that finding. INDEPENDENCE, Mo. KCUR serves the Kansas City region with breaking news and powerful storytelling. 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. While he still values the profession, his newfound empathy made him more aware of the real damage some officers inflict. Used both as a description of a state of mind as well as a medical diagnosis, excited delirium is a phrase that medical examiners sometimes use in official reports after a person is severely injured or killed in an intense police interaction. He was a 1965 First, he found a study by electrophysiologist Dr. Douglas Zipes that highlighted Taser-induced cardiac arrest cases in the field. Dr. Timothy Runnels. Five years later on September 14, 2014 it would be difficult to argue that Runnels was unable to avoid shooting Bryce in the chest. Told ya! he said. Runnels had once been an officer inthe Kansas City Police Department, though Matt didnt work in his sector. All rights reserved. Matt and Stacy were upset, but they believed the worst was over. He no longer had the ability to adequately control feelings of anger, frustration, depression, and anxiety. This case was filed in U.S. Courts Of Appeals, U.S. Court Of Appeals, Eighth Circuit. He retired as a reporter in December 2022 after a 37-year journalism career. 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. Site content may be used for any purpose without explicit permission unless otherwise specified. 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. I thought he shot him. 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. "Well, you better learn how to fight before you start challenging people," Martin reportedly told him at the time. Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Missouri police officer Timothy Runnels was recently sentenced to four years in prison for tasing 17-year-old Bryce Masters. Then Runnels released Bryces armsand allowed him to drop face first onto the street. He realized they didnt know any better. It was the Taser that almost killed Bryce. Timothy Runnels, a 32-year-old former Independence, Missouri, police officer SENTENCED to 4 years in Federal Prison. Even on the night of Runnels sentencing, Bryce said, he was followed by an Independence squad car for at least 3miles. It is estimated that someone is murdered in Texas every seven hours. On one occasion, he said, he was out bowling when two officers approached him and sarcastically asked how he was doing. Consider what the world of media would look like without The Intercept. Members of the Daily Kos group Support the Dream Defenders launchedfour ongoing projects: 1. After getting the phone call from Ketchmark, Matt and Stacy talked about what type of punishment would feel like justice to them. Masters was able to crawl out of his car before falling unconscious face-down on the pavement. He hadnt seen most of them for a while, so they all made small talk. However, the future he once imagined for himself was now likely out of reach. Timothy Runnels, 32, previously pleaded guilty. Bryce and his two siblings remained in the Independence school system. 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. Ending qualified immunity a doctrine established by the Supreme Court nearly 40 years ago has become a central goal of proponents of police reform in the wake of the murder of George Floyd a year ago by a Minneapolis police officer. "Kos" and "Daily Kos" are registered trademarks of Kos Media, LLC. Official websites use .gov Matt thinks back to his initial training in 2004, when he was assured that the weapons electric current would notcause death. He would get terrible headaches, he had trouble sleeping problems that persist. When the grand jury returned an indictment against Runnels on March 26, 2015, the Masters finally got a bit more information about what happened on September 14. Matt assumed it was due to positional asphyxia a condition where breathing is inhibited because of awkward positioning or restraint. He was just being completely uncooperative with the officer, the spokesperson told KCTV. Bryce dealt with the perception that he was somehow to blame on a daily basis. Funnels would have shot him outright and or the response team may not have been as thorough. The video showing what OfficerTimothy Runnelsdid to the teenager is almost unwatchable. Bryce Masters, then 17, was pulled over by Officer Runnels and was told that his car's license plate was linked to a suspect. The jury returned its verdict Friday in U.S. District Court in Kansas City after a week-long trial in the lawsuit brought by Bryce Masters against the former officer, Timothy Runnels. He politely let them know that Bryce was doing OK, leaving details unsaid. When Stacy and Matt Masters began having children, they moved across the border to Kansas City so Matt could keep his job as an officer with the Kansas City Police Department. The story became notorious among Kansas City cops. Warning: This video contains graphic scenes of police violence. BARRY H. RUNNELS, age 72, of Washington CH, passed away on Sunday, February 9, 2020 at his home. 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. You need to get up here.. 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. Cops use that all the time.. His short-term memory loss was severe, and it exacerbated his emotional instability. Look for a box or option labeled Home Page (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari) or On Startup (Chrome). 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. Yeah, I kind of do, he concluded. Miami Trace High School recently released the third nine weeks honor roll and honorable mention. 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. 71. . (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.). He read a study by Patrick J. Tchou, a cardiac electrophysiologist at the Cleveland Clinic. Roughly every 30minutes that night, Bryce would forget what happened to him. The complete dashcam video of Independence, Missouri, police officer Timothy Runnels tasering Bryce Masters on September 14, 2014. When Matt went back to work, he was eager to discuss the Taser with his colleagues. Timothy is related to Carolyn Ann Runnels . Timothy Runnels Bryce Masters v. Timothy Runnels, No. 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. When Masters refused to get out of his car, Runnels tried to drag him out, then drew his Taser and shot him. 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. 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. In November 2014, Bryces case was back in the news with reports thatRunnels had left the Independence police force. He stopped the gray Pontiac because he believed the . Two years ago, for example, it upheld the denial of qualified immunity to an officer who slammed a nonthreatening, nonviolent woman to the ground, breaking her collarbone and knocking her unconscious. Runnels also was indicted on charges of depriving Masters of his civil rights under color of law and obstruction of justice. Evidence at the hearing revealed that as a result of the tasing, the minor went into cardiac arrest and became unresponsive. Tears began to form in both his parents eyes, anticipating what everyone else in the room was about to see. The 17-year-old went into a coma after what started as a traffic stop ended with Runnels using his Taser for 20 seconds, four times longer than officers are supposed to keep the electricity running. A federal judge ordered that the. The recent Tasering of then 17-year-old Bryce Masters by Missouri cop Timothy Runnels has sparked outrage in the community and around the world. 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. Do you think that Bryce is going to make it? heasked her. Tchous study was one of the first to demonstrate that a Taser shock canpotentially lead to cardiac arrest and it was financed by Taser International and completed in 2006, eight years prior to Runnels using a Taser on Bryce. Timothy Runnels electrocuted the teen for 23 seconds during traffic stop, more than four times longer than cops are . He wanted to prove himself, but he didnt know any of the details. 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. Nothing I couldve done would have stopped him that day. Whenever you see these officers come out with a use of force, whether it be a shooting or a tasering or a whatever, there are phrases that always go in those reports, that weve been trained to put in there, Matt said. 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. If you can watch, see for yourself: According to reports, Bryce Masters actually died from his injuriesand was lucky thatunlike those who responded to Eric Garner, his paramedics came prepared to do their jobs. Hethen tases Bryce for 23 seconds, handcuffs him, drags the boys body behind the car, and deliberately drops him face first onto the asphalt road. Why risk getting hurt? Any positive reviews previously submitted about Dr. Timothy D Runnels, DC will appear here. This may be called Tools or use an icon like the cog. (A member of Runnelss defense team, asked for comment, said he had no information about his clients departurefrom the Kansas City Police Department. Runnels didnt answer. 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. Do you feel sorry for him? Stacy once asked, referring to Runnels. Runnels told him to get up. I dont think Ill ever, ever be able to forget that., As hard as it was to watch, Bryce felt vindicated. He took a shot right to the heart, and that sent him into cardiac arrest.. He tells Bryce to get out but doesnt give a reason. Bryce has vague memories of that Wednesday night. Runnels orders Masters to exit his . 1. In hindsight, Matt was fixated on the Taser and not on the other evidence in front of him. Runnelss crime, depriving a minor of his civil rights, occurred when he dropped the dying 17-year-old boy on his face. When they opened his hospital gown, Matt saw two bright red marks that looked like bee stings on Bryces body. About an hour later, a colleague called Matt; two FBI agents assigned to investigate police misconduct were already looking for him. 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 . "We hope that today's sentence will allow Bryce to begin to focus on his future. Please donatehere. Although sentencing guidelines called for a term of eight to 10 years, prosecutors recommended a sentence of no more than four years as part of the plea agreement. You dont just get tased, Matt remembered thinking. But Bryce wasnt moving. 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.. Approached him and sarcastically asked how he was just being completely uncooperative with the officer, the future he imagined. 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