The mother and baby shot to death by an Independence police officer did not die immediately, and both suffered “great physical pain,” according to a lawsuit filed Thursday in Jackson County Circuit Court.
Maria Pike, 34, and her two-month-old daughter, Destinii Hope, were killed last November after two Independence police officers entered their apartment. Destinii was shot once in the head and “survived for several minutes, gasping and choking to breathe and letting out faint cries,” Pike’s parents and Destinii’s father charge in the lawsuit.
Pike was shot in the back, neck and wrist.
Both died at the hospital.
The lawsuit names officers Jordan White and Chad Cox, who were dispatched to the apartment after Pike’s mother called to say Pike assaulted her. Pike’s husband disputed that, but, the lawsuit said, White and Cox entered the apartment anyway, with the aim of taking Destinii from her mother. Pike, according to her family, was suffering from postpartum depression.
“This lawsuit is about ensuring the lives of the most vulnerable will never be taken by the reckless actions of those entrusted to protect and serve them,” said attorney Tom Porto.
The lawsuit also alleges that a trained mental health co-responder — called to the scene by the two officers — was at the doorway of the apartment and heard the gunshots. “Had the officers waited just a few seconds longer before escalating the situation, the “co-responder” would have intervened and assisted,” according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also alleges that Pike was never a threat to the officers and they “callously stood by and watched Maria suffer as she lay dying on the bedroom floor.”
Both White and Cox are still IPD officers, according to a city spokesperson.
The day before Thanksgiving, Independence police released a highly edited video of the officers’ body cameras. The video showed just three minutes of the 20 minute encounter.
The video shows officers entering the apartment building, talking briefly with the apartment manager and then entering Pike's unit. There, they found Pike, unarmed, in a closet, holding her baby. Eleven minutes after officers enter the apartment, according to time stamps, the video shows Pike grabbing a large knife and moving toward an officer with the knife above her head. The video stops just before White shot Pike and Destinii.
In March, Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson decided against charging the officers.
“Our purpose is to determine if what was done was reasonable, defined by Missouri law, and not whether it was the best course of action,” Johnson said in a statement.
White has had a bit of a rocky career. Before joining IPD he was an officer in Napa, Idaho, where he was involuntarily “terminated” 11 months into his tenure, according to Napa city documents. No reason was given.
Independence police said in an email that it does not comment on pending litigation.
