Kansas City police agree to pay $110,000 settlement to teen pepper sprayed during protest
Kansas City police on Tuesday agreed to pay $110,000 in a legal settlement to a teenage girl who, along with her father, was pepper-sprayed by officers during a demonstration against police brutality in 2020.
The lawsuit was filed in Jackson County Circuit Court in August 2020 and accused three officers of assault and false imprisonment and two of them of battery. The arrest was caught on video and generated national media attention.
The settlement remains pending until it is approved by Circuit Court Judge S. Margene Burnett. No date has been set on when that would occur.
The 15-year-old girl and her father, Tarence Maddox were at the protest on May 30, 2020 for about 25 minutes when Maddox yelled toward a line of officers near West 47th Street and Mill Creek Parkway, accusing the police of “prematurely shooting people” and “prematurely using excessive force.”
Moments later, about six officers approached, dousing Maddox and his daughter with pepper spray. Maddox was pulled into the street and taken into custody. In his lawsuit, Maddox described the encounter as a “kidnapping.”
One of the officers, who was identified as Nicholas McQuillen, pulled Maddox’s daughter toward him and sprayed her directly in the eyes from about 4 inches away, according to the lawsuit. The girl had “in no way” hindered his ability to make an arrest.
McQuillen was later indicted by a Jackson County grand jury with fourth-degree assault, a misdemeanor. The indictment alleges McQuillen “recklessly caused physical pain to ...a juvenile, by spraying a chemical agent at and/or near her face and eyes.”
A criminal trial for McQuillen is scheduled to take place April 11 in Jackson County Circuit Court, according to court records.
Maddox dismissed his lawsuit against the police department in October. His attorney, Tom Porto, declined to comment.
Lora McDonald executive director of, MORE2, the Metro Organization for Racial and Economic Equity said the girl was exercising her right to protest when she was unnecessarily assaulted by the officers.
“I’m concerned that this type of behavior goes on in other parts of the community, the parts that don’t hit broad daylight, far too often,” McDonald told The Star. “I’m concerned at how infrequently the victims see any justice, We are concerned at how infrequently officers are held accountable.”
Capt. Leslie Foreman, a spokeswoman for the police department, said “because there are ongoing criminal charges filed in regard, we are not able to provide a statement or comment.”
Foreman said McQuillen and the other officers, James Oakes and Taylor Hall are currently assigned to the patrol bureau.
McQuillen is one of five police officers who have faced criminal charges. In November, detective Eric DeValkenaere was convicted of second-degree involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action in the shooting death of Cameron Lamb on Dec. 3, 2019. DeValkenaere is scheduled to be sentenced on March 4.
In another assault case, officers Charles Prichard, 49, and Matthew Brummett, 38, face a felony assault charge for the May 2019 arrest of Breona Hill, a Black transgender woman.
A passerby captured video of the officers slamming the woman’s head on the ground and placing one of their knees on her neck.
Prichard and Brummett are no longer employed by the police department. They are scheduled to stand trial together July 25.
The settlement on Tuesday was the latest that the police department has agreed to pay out to settle allegations of excessive use of force.
In August, the police department agreed to pay $200,000 in a legal settlement to a man severely injured after police fired a tear gas canister during a protest on the Country Club Plaza.
