Thats what caused him to go into cardiac arrest. Runnels told him to get up. On April 5, for instance, Matt and Stacy wanted to surprise Bryce with tickets to a Kansas City Royals game. According to the court filings, Runnels also admitted that his actions resulted in bodily injury to the minor. Matt and Stacy would check on him as he slept, just to make sure he was still breathing. Although Runnels was no longer a police officer, and the Masters were confident they had a civil case against the Independence Police Department, criminal charges seemed unlikely. The cop was like, You want to mess with me, and pulled out his Taser and tased him, witness Michelle Baker recalled after recording acell phone videoshortly after the incident. Matt, Stacy, and Bryce all said that the harassment has become worse. Close. His most vivid recollection was the intense pain coming from his mouth. Lexipol. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS Bryce Masters used his mobile phone to record his encounter with Officer Timothy Runnels on September 14, 2014. He was athletic and made good grades. theintercept.com Tased in the Chest for 23 Seconds, Dead for 8 Minutes, Now Facing a Lifetime of Recovery Matt told him that if an officer ever stopped him, he had every right to know why he was being stopped, and whether he was under arrest. Runnels improper use of the Taser caused Bryce's heart to stop for eight minutes. He didnt understand why we wanted to go so early, and he threw a fit, Matt said. Eventually, Bryce went back to sleep. This article was reported in partnership with The Investigative Fund at The Nation Institute. Matt suspected that once it was clear the warrant association to the car wasnt sufficient probable cause for an arrest, Runnels needed new justifications. 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. The clicking sound of the Taser shock began, followed by pulsating ticks of electricity shooting through copper wires and into Bryce. The past 20 months have been emotionally and physically exhausting, the statement said. Site content may be used for any purpose without explicit permission unless otherwise specified. About an hour later, a colleague called Matt; two FBI agents assigned to investigate police misconduct were already looking for him. Bryces friend Curtis called Matt at about 3 p.m. that Sunday to let Matt know that Bryce had been stopped by the police outside his house, and that the officer looked like he was trying to get Bryce out of the car. (Sept. 14, 2014) Bryce began to moan.You dont like to play by the rules, do you, Runnels said. Matt and Stacy didnt sleep at all that first night. If thats my right, why would I let some cop try to take it away?, Matt felt betrayed. 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. The Masters couldnt see the window, but it was clear Bryce hadnt rolled it down far enough for Runnels, who asked Bryce to open it completely. It was Timothy Runnels. 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. on about your day, ask yourself: How likely is it that the story you just read would have been produced by a different news outlet if The Intercept hadnt done it? Its sickening to me to listen to Taser even speak, Matt continues. The police kept referencing an outstanding warrant, but unless there was a ticket Mattdidnt know about, Bryces license was valid and his car had been registered to Matt and Stacy for over three years. They told him that they were disappointed he was smoking marijuana but that his civil rights had been violated. Officer Gillihan was involved again. Cops use that all the time.. Timothy Runnels, et al Case Summary On 06/17/2019 Bryce Masters filed a Civil Right - Other Civil Right lawsuit against Timothy Runnels ,. Roughly every 30minutes that night, Bryce would forget what happened to him. As it happens, the concept of excited delirium is highly controversial. After excessively tazing a fellow cops underage son during a traffic stop and slamming the handcuffed teen face-first onto the street, an overzealous officer was recently sentenced to four years in prison for violating the minors civil rights. Please donatehere. We need White people of good conscience to join the fight against police cruelty and unlawful behavior. 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. What happened to my teeth? he asked repeatedly. Hes got his hand up on his car, his shades on, and hes looking pleased with himself, Stacy said. More awesome news! Matt wasnt sure what this was supposed to mean and wasnt present when the incident happened, but word spread quickly about the foul-mouthed cop who was written up on the spot for nonchalantly using a racial slur during a gathering of officers. Give me your hand, youre under arrest, Runnels said. 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. Members of the Daily Kos group Support the Dream Defenders launchedfour ongoing projects: 1. As the video openswe seea gray Pontiac enter the frame, and Bryces dad, Matt, put his hand on his sons knee. 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. NINTH GRADE HONOR ROLL: Darren Abel, Elliott Anthony, Macy Aparicio, Carter Bainter, Caleb Bennett, Peyton Black, Zachary Bolen, Jesse Bryant, Courtney Carter, Cameron Casto, Jacob Cline, Broghan Cooper, Jordan Cordell, Meghan Cory, Audrey Craig, Jake Daniels, Makenna Davis, Jadyn Dawson, [] When Masters refused to get out of his car, Runnels tried to drag him out, then drew his Taser and shot him. Matt assumed cardiac arrest would be a prominent part of the conversation. He graduated from said college in 2002. All rights reserved. Runnels faces a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for his conviction for violating the minor's civil rights. Tasers told everybody, If youve got to put your hands on somebody, why? Bryce Masters was 17 at the time of the September 2014 confrontation with former Officer Timothy Runnels. Meanwhile, Independence police officials were intent on controlling the story. The Department of Justice included parts of our law in their reports on Ferguson, Missouri, in 2015. "Well, you better learn how to fight before you start challenging people," Martin reportedly told him at the time. 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. We saw as the officers dragged Freddie into the paddywagon,but yet no one will be held responsible for his death. 2. Matt Masters does not agree that the Taser use was reasonable, but he agrees it was common police practice. Matt had been there before, a guy laughing in the room at the helpless contortions of Taser victims. See, I was somewhere around 8 or 9 years old when I saw my brother abusing one of our dogs. OurFreedom of Information Act project. He found himself doing things out of character, like punching holes in the drywall at his parents house when he became frustrated. Matt couldnt see any probable cause. WARNING: GRAPHIC FOOTAGE. 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. 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 . If Runnels was trained when he was hired in 2007, unless he was adequately re-certified with updated information about the risks of cardiac arrest, it was likely he and Matt had the same false understanding of the weapon they both carried. They understood Tasers to be safe tools, but tools that were used on suspects who posed a threat to officers. His mom and dad held his hand. Select this result to view Timothy Glynn Runnels's phone number, address, and more. Consider what the world of media would look like without The Intercept. He thought again about his own training, and how Taser International, by holding a virtual monopoly on the weapons, heavily influenced the information officers received. TheDream Defendersdefend the Dream of Martin Luther King Jr. by "develop[ing]the next generation of radical leaders to realize and exercise our independent collective power; building alternative systems and organizing to disrupt the structures that oppress our communities." After Bryce was tased, Matt discovered something hed never heard in any Taser training hed gone through, something he resisted believing, because it violated an article of faith among police officers: Tasers can kill. He knows there are manydeserving cases, especially involving minority victims, that never see the inside of a courtroom. Everyone was at a loss, not just over the gravity of Bryces medical distress, but over what had sparked the use of force to begin with. As his mom and dad moved in to take a closer look, he spat out little pieces of his teeth. Runnels faces a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for his conviction for violating the minor's civil rights. The audio was initially silent. The Masters could see Bryces heart heaving up and down on the screen, an indication that he was going through cardiac arrest. Lets take a look at the case of Bryce Masters, an 18-year-old white teen and the son of a Missouri cop. While he still values the profession, his newfound empathy made him more aware of the real damage some officers inflict. Masters went into cardiac arrest after Runnels used a stun gun on him after the teen refused to get out of his car. The video shook the convictions he had always held about law enforcement officers. 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. In the medical world, Tasers causing cardiac arrest was apparently a well-established phenomenon. He felt terrible for missing the game. He knows there are manydeserving cases, especially involving minority victims, that never see the inside of a courtroom. He had to serve time. 4. First, he found a study by electrophysiologist Dr. Douglas Zipes that highlighted Taser-induced cardiac arrest cases in the field. After misdiagnosing the cause of the problem, Matt Masters shared some more with us: After almost 20 years as a cop, it had become easy for Matt to split the world into good guys and bad guys. It was clear he had vomited. Download Citation | Influence of the Ground Effect on the Precise Landing of an Unmanned Aircraft | This paper examines a multi-rotor unmanned aerial vehicle and the influence of the ground effect . Cops do make bad decisions. Then he pulled him out of the car, handcuffed him, and drug him around the car. 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. Lonnie Ali at her husbands funeral: America must never forget that when police and young black boys speak, great things can happen.. Matt started searching the internet for Taser deaths and cardiac arrest. I felt ashamed, because I didnt want to watch it. Mostly Bryce struggled because he couldnt rely on his own memory of the incident. When they opened his hospital gown, Matt saw two bright red marks that looked like bee stings on Bryces body. He told them a plea agreement had been finalized. We are rapidly approaching the signature collection phase of our campaign to get the Over-Policed Rights Act on the California ballot. Top 3 Results for Timothy Runnels. At the age of 12, Ali discovered his talent for boxing through an odd twist of fate. The Intercept is an independent nonprofit news outlet. 19-2242 (8th Cir. Bryce looked at Matt, confused. As part of his guilty plea, Runnels admitted that, while he . 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. When Stacy would try to push him in his rehab, he sometimes snapped. It was daylight outside, and in the distance ahead, they could see Bryces gray Pontiac driving along as Runnelss cruiser followed far behind. Runnels improper use of the Taser caused Bryce's heart to stop for eight minutes. He mostly kept out of trouble and hung out with friends from school. Bryce wasnt fighting anybody.. Riveting article. It was because they fought, or they were stressed, he remembered hearing in his training. share. When his mom noticed, he tried to explain how strange they felt. Later, when they got home and Bryce described what had happened, something about the arrest didnt seem right. That faith had allowed him to rationalize Runnelss actions, but there was no rationalizing what was on that recording. I dont play games., Ive been tased a dozen times, Runnels said to Bryce. Even the victim, 18-year-old Bryce Masters, had seen it only once. Yeah, I kind of do, he concluded. The video opened with a shot from the dashcam of Runnelss cruiser, the road rolling by, trees and sidewalks passing on both sides. Long ago history and recent events informmy opinion. 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 today's KC Star. 2. 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