The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas is urging Lenexa Police to release footage of an officer shooting that killed a Missouri man last month.
On Wednesday, the ACLU of Kansas posted on its Facebook page a call for transparency in the June 22 shooting death of Jose Enrique Cartagena Chacon, 25, of Grandview, Missouri.
“Jose Enrique Cartagena Chacon was only 25 years old when he was shot and murdered by Lenexa PD June 22, 2025. He should still be alive today,” the post says.
In the early morning hours of Sunday, June 22, Chacon was shot and killed by police after officers responded to a call of a person with a gun at the Lenexa Crossing Apartments, 12445 W. 97th Terr.
Since the shooting, two officers have been placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard in an officer-involved shooting, Lenexa Master Police Officer Danny Chavez, a department spokesperson, said in an email to the Johnson County Post.
Over the past couple of weeks, Chacon’s friends and family members have been asking — on social media and in local media reports — for officer body cam footage of the incident to be released.
On Wednesday, the ACLU added its voice.
“Trust in law enforcement requires transparency—and the the people who have sworn to protect us should not be allowed to kill members of the community and remain anonymous, and avoid accountability,” the ACLU said in its Facebook post. “This tragedy cannot be ignored and police violence can not remain unchecked in Kansas.”
The Lenexa Police Department would not comment on the case, citing the ongoing investigation.
In the post, the organization aligned itself with friends and family members of Chacon’s who are asking for the Lenexa Police Department to release footage of the shooting.
“We stand alongside the community calling for justice and the immediate release of Lenexa police camera footage involving the police killing of Jose Enrique Cartagena Chacon,” they stated.
The post was shared on Facebook and Instagram and re-shared by local social justice organizations, including Showing Up for Racial Justice, Kansas City; the Advocacy and Awareness Group of Johnson County; and the Kansas Democratic Party Hispanic Caucus.
In an email to the Post, Esmie Tseng, communications director for the ACLU of Kansas, reiterated the organization’s stance it articulated on Facebook calling for transparency in the case and said it had no additional comments.
An investigation is ongoing
The Johnson County Officer Involved Critical Incident Investigation Team (OICIIT) is conducting an independent investigation into Chacon’s death, with the Olathe Police Department as the lead agency, Lenexa Police said in a statement.
Lenexa Police Chief Dawn Layman met with some members of Chacon’s family and explained the investigation process, Chavez, the department spokesperson, said in a previous email to the Johnson County Post.
“It was explained to those representatives how the OICIIT process works and that it typically takes numerous weeks (if not months) for that independent body to conclude their investigation and the [district attorney] to give a ruling,” he said.
According to Kansas law, law enforcement agencies in Kansas are not required to publicly disclose anything that is considered a “criminal investigation record,” which includes all footage from police body and vehicle cameras, though the law carves out exceptions a district court can make, for instance, if the court finds disclosing the record is in the public interest.
A separate Kansas statute does stipulate that law enforcement agencies shall allow certain people to view body camera recordings within 20 days of requesting to see it, but only a limited number of people would be considered eligible for such a viewing.
Chacon’s family successfully raised money for funeral
Over the long July 4 weekend, Chacon’s friends and family had a fundraiser in Grandview to be able to pay for the transport of Chacon’s body back to El Salvador, so his family there can hold a funeral.
“(The) fundraiser went great. We should have everything we need in that aspect,” Victor Ayala, Chacon’s brother-in-law, said in a message to the Johnson County Post. “Now we just want to see videos that this was justified. It’s so wrong in many levels.”
The pain of losing Chacon is still reverberating through the communities of people that knew him, Ayala said.
“He really was just a nice soul to be around. He was the best uncle to my children. In fact, that’s what hurts the most, that they won’t have him around,” he said.
This story was originally published by the Johnson County Post.
