Dozens of people gathered at the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department on Saturday to demand it release footage of the shooting of a 25-year-old Kansas City man by a police officer.
Amaree’ya Henderson was fatally shot on April 26 by a Kansas City, Kansas, police officer conducting a traffic stop at about 8:30 p.m. in the Argentine neighborhood. A coalition of local civil rights organizations and community and family members are now calling for more transparency around Henderson’s case and others.
Nikki Richardson, president of Justice for Wyandotte, said the police turned her down when she tried to get body camera footage of the shooting. She told Saturday’s crowd that releasing the footage is the first step toward accountability for the department.
“We have seen how communities mobilize once they see video footage of what happens to people,” Richardson said. “We can see how that moves and that changes things. And that's exactly why they don't want to show us, so we have to make a stand.”
The Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department is investigating the shooting and said that during the stop, a “confrontation ensued” and an officer shot Henderson. He was transported to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. An officer was also transported to the hospital with minor injuries.
Richardson read a statement from Henderson’s family on Saturday provided by their lawyer that said Henderson was driving home after his last DoorDash delivery when he was stopped by police. His fiancee was in the car while his mother watched and listened on Facetime, according to the statement.
His fiancee, Shakira Hill, told The Kansas City Star that they were not given a reason for why they were pulled over, and she called Henderson’s mother by his request. Henderson’s mother, Pauletta Johnson, told The Star that her son was scared for his life and previously had a traumatic experience with the police.
Hill said an officer shot Henderson while he was trying to move his vehicle to a more public space. Johnson and Hill both told The Star that Henderson doesn’t carry a weapon. According to the family’s statement, Henderson told the officer that he was afraid and he wanted to wait until his mother got there before getting out of the car.
The family said in the statement that they want the police department to release the unaltered body camera and dash camera footage of the shooting.
“We cannot express how outraged we are that Amaree’ya’s life was taken through this unjustified act of violence. And we want the footage released now,” Henderson’s family said in a statement. “There is no excuse for this. If there is nothing to hide, release the footage to the public.”
Who was Amaree’ya Henderson?
Three members of Henderson’s family drove from Colorado to attend Saturday’s rally. Tamika Manning said she is a cousin of Henderson’s mother and knows the kind of the relationship the two had.
Manning said Henderson was his mother's only son and they spent time together every day.
“This is a big loss for the family,” Manning said. “I want them to know what they took away from us, the type of person they took away from us.”
Manning described Henderson as “a gentle giant” who enjoyed the simple things in life like walking in the park.
“He likes to dress, he likes to be with his family. He barbecues, he loves to cook. He was just experimenting with different seasonings with his mom,” Manning said. “She's a herbalist, so he's been experimenting with different meals, cooking (for) his fiancee.”
Manning said the family wants the shooting footage to be made public and the name of the officer who shot Henderson so that they can know what happened and get closure and justice.
A spokesperson for the Kansas City Police Department told KCUR on Saturday that there was still an active investigation and no additional information other than what has already been released is available at this time.
When asked about the process for making the body camera footage available, the spokesperson referred to a page on the KCKPD’s website. The website says the Kansas Open Records Act applies to requests for body-worn or in-vehicle camera recordings.
When the department finishes its investigation, KCPD detectives will submit the case to the Wyandotte County Kansas District Attorney’s Office.
