A Kansas City Police officer who dodged charges in a 2023 triple shooting has a history of using excessive force, racking up millions in payouts to victims and surviving one prominent call for his firing.
Officer Blayne Newton, 29, shot at a minivan 16 times in the June 9, 2023, incident that killed Marcel Nelson and Kristen Fairchild, both 42, at an intersection near 31st Street and Van Brunt Boulevard. A third person, Jaden Thorns, was shot in the head but survived. The Kansas City Police Department settled a wrongful death lawsuit with the families late last year for $3.5 million.
Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson announced Wednesday that she could not “ethically or legally” file charges against Newton despite her concerns with the pattern of cases.
Newton remains on the force and makes $94,900 a year, KCPD Captain Jake Becchina said. Becchina had no further comment.
In one of the more high-profile cases of the past few years, Newton, who is white, shot and killed Donnie Sanders, an unarmed 47-year-old Black man, in March 2020 after chasing him for speeding. Sanders’ family has filed a $10 million civil case against the department.
In 2024, former Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker called on KCPD to fire Newton because he was a risk to public safety.
Another case was settled for $65,000 when a Kansas woman accused Newton of assault at a Platte County Walmart.
“We really can’t understand why this officer still works for KCPD,” said John Picerno, an attorney for the families of Nelson, Fairchild and Thorns. "(The family) feels like they don't matter, that law enforcement can do anything they want to."
Newton long ago decided “to shoot and ask questions later,” Picerno said. “He’s not someone who believes in de-escalation techniques.”
Johnson said that in the 2023 case, Newton used permissible force in defense of others, responding to the van’s front passenger who was firing at another vehicle. Missouri law says a person cannot be held criminally liable when they unintentionally strike a third party while defending themselves or others, she said.
Despite that, Johnson said she remains “concerned” about the shooting, and she recognized that her decision “may be deeply painful.”
“This office has serious and ongoing concerns about (Newton’s) pattern of behavior and the potential consequences it poses for other cases in which he is involved,” Johnson wrote in a letter to KCPD Chief Stacey Graves.
Johnson wrote that she “personally communicated” these concerns to KCPD leadership, “including our concerns about (his) continued employment,” though she acknowledged that keeping him on the force is up to KCPD and the Board of Police Commissioners.
