INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (AP) - The mother of a man shot and killed by police claims in a lawsuit that Independence and Sugar Creek officers used excessive force during the confrontation.
Tamy Lorraine Lukecart claims police actions were “unreasonable and unjustified” in the death of 22-year-old Dakota Lukecart on Jan. 24, 2017.
Lukecart, of Lincoln, fled when officer tried to stop him because his car had expired tags. A chase that reached “dangerous” speeds through Independence and Sugar Creek stopped at a dead end.
Police said Independence Officer Darren Spade and Sugar Creek Officer Victor Contreras shot Lukecart after he and passenger did not obey commands to show their hands and Lukecart accelerated toward police, The Kansas City Star reported.
Lukecart did not pose a threat and officers had a duty to “exhaust all other reasonable means” to arrest him before they resorted to deadly force, according to the lawsuit.
Independence police did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment. Its police chief, Brad Halsey, and two of its officers are named in the lawsuit.
Sugar Creek Police Chief Christopher Soule and Contreras both said they could not comment because the lawsuit was pending.
The Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office’s declined to charge the officers involved.
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