#Police Officer Who Fatally Shot Unarmed DoorDash Driver Dodges Charges

[ausetkmt]

The Kansas City police officer who shot and killed a DoorDash driver behind the wheel of his speeding vehicle as his girlfriend sat in the passenger’s seat will not face criminal charges, prosecutors said.

Amaree’ya Henderson, 25, had just completed his last delivery on April 26 when he and his girlfriend were pulled over for an alleged traffic violation. During the stop, Henderson asked his girlfriend to use FaceTime to contact his mother, who set out for the scene.

At some point before his mother arrived, Henderson started to drive away from the stop. That attempt to leave left one of the officers between the door of the speeding vehicle and Henderson, Wyandotte County District Attorney Mark Dupree said in a Friday statement explaining the decision not to bring criminal charges.

“At the time the officer discharged his weapon, the suspect was driving the car at a high rate of speed while the officer was stuck between the door and the driver’s compartment,” Dupree said. “While holding on to the moving vehicle, the officer told the suspect to stop.”

After Henderson allegedly “refused commands”, the officer shot and killed him, Dupree said, noting that state law permits police to use deadly force when facing “immediate danger of serious bodily harm or death.”

Henderson’s mother, who was still on a FaceTime call with her son when he was killed, said that police body-camera footage she reviewed shows that the officer was in the wrong.

“[The officer] was in no danger,” mom Pauletta Johnson, girlfriend Shakira Hill, and family attorney Nuru Witherspoon said Friday, according to local outlet KCUR. “He made choices that directly violated the use-of-force policies in place to protect citizens and himself.”

Authorities have not publicly identified the officer by name.

The video tells a different story than that described by prosecutors, they said in a joint statement.

“The body cam shows a disgusting display of excessive force, and the unlawful, unnecessary killing of another young, unarmed Black man,” the statement said.

The footage is yet to be publicly released.

Kay Harper Williams, another attorney representing the Henderson family, called for that to change.

“The police department has the ability to release the footage to the public, now that the investigation is closed,” Williams said, according to local outlet KSHB. “Pauletta Johnson said it best. If there is nothing to hide, then KCKPD should release the full, unredacted video to the public.”

The department said in a statement that it is now reviewing whether the officer followed policy.

"As with all officer-involved shootings, now that the independent investigation has taken place and the Wyandotte County District Attorney has conducted his review, KCKPD will now conduct an administrative review to determine that policy was followed; and if any changes to existing policy are warranted," the department said. "Due to potential civil litigation, the Department will make no further statements regarding the incident."