Ex-Cop Pleads Guilty to Violating Missouri Teen's Rights

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

Ex-Cop Pleads Guilty to Violating Missouri Teen's Rights
By The Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Sep 11, 2015, 4:40 PM ET

A former Missouri police officer has pleaded guilty to violating the constitutional rights of a minor by deliberately dropping the restrained teenager face-first onto the ground.

Federal prosecutors in Kansas City on Friday announced that former Independence officer Timothy Runnels admitted his role in a Sept. 14, 2014, confrontation with 17-year-old Bryce Masters.

Prosecutors say Runnels used a stun gun on Masters during a traffic stop even though the youth was not a threat. Masters then dropped Masters face-first while he was restrained. Masters went into cardiac arrest and was placed in a medically induced coma and treated for lack of oxygen to the brain.

Runnels was indicted in March on four federal charges accusing him of using excessive force and hindering the police department's investigation of the incident.


Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/cop-pleads-guilty-violating-missouri-teens-rights-33695766

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[center]

Timothy Runnels, 2nd from the left. [/center]
Earlier story:

Missouri Cop Indicted for Attacking Teen Trying to Video Record Traffic Stop, Leaving Him in Coma
Carlos Miller March 27, 2015

A Missouri cop who left a teenager in a coma last year after the young man attempted to video record a traffic stop was indicted by a federal grand jury Thursday.

It was a rare decision considering grand juries tend to believe cops can get away with murder. But the victim in this case, Bryce Masters, is the son of a Kansas City cop.

Independence police officer Tim Runnels, a former Kansas City cop himself, was indicted on two counts, but details will remain sealed until Monday, when he makes his first court appearance.

The court will also likely release video evidence against Runnels, including the one recorded from Bryce’s phone as well as the footage from his own dash cam.

More:
http://photographyisnotacrime.com/2015/03/missouri-cop-indicted-for-attacking-teen-trying-to-video-record-traffic-stop-leaving-him-in-coma/

[bonniebgood]

1. Oh and had he been the son of anybody else oh well. Maybe the

cop's son was in the wrong neighborhood.

[procon]

2. I remember reading about his boy.

He was tazed in the chest and his heart stopped and the lack of oxygen left him severely brain damaged. At the time, I thoughy about the callousness of that cop and I still can't understand why didn't he even do CPR or try to save the boy's life before the paramedics arrived?

I'm glad he was charged, but they seem very insignificant compared to the quality of life the boy and his family will have to deal with.

[Ino]

3. And this is why he pled guilty...

Prosecutors will recommend a sentence of no more than four years in prison and will allow the defense to request a sentence that doesn't include incarceration, according to the plea deal.

He's going to just walk away.

[tblue37]

4. He looks like someone who probably uses steroids to bulk up. nt