'We're asking for transparency.' Families urge Topeka to release video of police shootings

The families of Christopher Kelley and Taylor Lowery gathered as one Sunday afternoon to ask Topeka's city government to release police body cam footage of the deaths of their loved ones.

The families are seeking accountability, said attorney LaRonna Lassiter Saunders, who represents them and accompanied them during a news conference at Faith Temple Church.

"Today, we are about truth and we're just asking for transparency," she said. "So, we are not against the police. We are not anti-cop; we are not attacking law enforcement. So, stop the division. We are about accountability. And, while we support the police, we also require accountability as we all should."

Lassiter Saunders said she would like to see Topeka police trained properly, and suggested they are not.

"We need them to be prepared when they're dealing with situations and not be put in situations that they're not prepared to deal with," she said.

What happened to Christopher Kelley and Taylor Lowery?

Sunday's news conference came after the city refused to publicly release body camera video of last year's fatal police shootings of Lowery and Kelley.

Three Topeka police officers shot Kelley, a 38-year-old Black man with mental health issues, after a standoff that lasted about an hour on June 24 near S.E. 4th and Holliday.

Kelley screamed and charged at the officers while holding a knife over his head, and was found to have had marijuana and methamphetamine in his system, said District Attorney Mike Kagay. He concluded the officers acted justifiably.

Five Topeka police officers fired a total of 34 gunshots at Lowery, a 33-year-old Black man, on Oct. 13 in the parking lot of a Kwik Shop at 4500 S.W. Topeka Blvd.

Lowery had just attempted a carjacking in that lot, and minutes earlier had tried to force his way into a bedroom where his sister was barricaded at her nearby mobile home, police said. The officers fired after Lowery raised a knife and charged at one of them, Kagay said.

Lowery was found to have been under the influence of cocaine, amphetamine and methamphetamine, Kagay said. He concluded the officers acted justifiably.

More:Topeka attorney won't release body camera video after police fired 34 shots in killing man

"The families have asked continually for the footage to be released (to) let the public know what's going on," Lassiter Saunders said. "And then you decide. You decide whether the killings were justified. You decide if any action needs to be done. But the city attorney and the city manager have said, 'It is not in the best interest of Topeka to release the footage.'

"Who should decide what is in the public's best interest other than the public?"

Gretchen Spiker, communications director for Topeka's city government, on Monday emailed The Topeka Capital-Journal copies of statements attorneys representing the city made in October and February denying requests from The Capital-Journal seeking body camera video taken as Kelley and Lowery were killed.

Spiker said the city had nothing else to say at this time.

Families say Topeka police don't have enough training to deal with mental health crises

Speakers at Sunday's news conference included Daniel Martin, a licensed master social worker and Kelley's brother-in-law.

Martin compared the "rigorous training" he underwent earning his bachelor's and master's degrees in social work to the hours spent providing mental health education to Topeka police officers.

"The Topeka Police Department only has to take 40 hours of CIT basic training, which they get at the initial academy class and then 40 hours of ongoing mental health education," Martin said.

In comparison, he said, he completed more than 200 hours of courses learning how to properly understand mental health.

"So, as you can see, the TPD isn't adequately trained to deal with the mental health crisis," Martin said. "So, it's easier to take a person to jail or in the cases of Lowery and Kelly to murder them."

More:Topeka police officer shot in gun battle after pursuing suspect car from earlier homicide

Christian Kelley, sister of Christopher Kelley, questioned the effectiveness of the police department's behavioral unit, which it operates as part of a partnership with Valeo Behavioral Health Care.

"Why is Valeo the only agency utilized in these types of situations?" Kelley asked. "There are plenty of social workers and other mental health counselors or workers who are trained to handle these types of situations. So why are we isolating our resources just to Valeo?"

Lassiter Saunders said after personally viewing the body cam footage of Christopher Kelley's death, she realized the police needed training. She said when officers arrived at the scene, they saw Kelley standing on a pile of rocks.

"The officer jumped out of the car and just started yelling commands at him — 'Put down the knife!' Well, first of all, why does he have to put down the knife?" she asked. "Because it's not illegal to walk around with a knife.

"He started yelling, and you could see Mr. Kelley just start escalating, and so if you're dealing with someone that's dealing with mental distress, you don't yell. You don't order commands. You don't point your gun at them."

More:The city of Topeka is changing the policing of its police and other employees. Here's how.

Family seeking help for body cam footage to be released

Family members are requesting the public to sign an online petition asking Topeka's city government to release body cam footage related to the fatal shootings of Kelley and Lowery.

The city attorneys concluded in October and February that the Kansas Open Records Act shielded videos of both situations from being made public, and that their release would be an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. They said the videos are investigative records, which the Kansas Open Records Act shields unless they meet each of six specific criteria, with one being that the release of the record must be in the public's interest.

The release of the videos would not be in the public's interest, the city attorneys said.

Da'Mabrius Duncan, mother of Lowery's daughter, said her experiences reading and listening to media accounts and watching the footage had been heartbreaking but confusing.

"When they were killing him, Taylor was grabbing for a wrench," Duncan said. "He was grabbing for a tool when they shot him. Not only that — a detective made physical contact with him trying to push him away from grabbing the wrench, and they still shot him."

Community activist Danielle Twemlow said at Sunday's conference that implementing independent citizen review boards and increasing training are among actions being taken by other communities across the country.

Considerable data exists to prove that taking such steps increases public trust and improves relationships between the police department and the community, Twemlow said.

"Many police departments welcome independent citizen review boards," she said.

Tim Hrenchir contributed to this story, he could be reached at tim.hrenchir@gannett.com or 785-213-5934.

Keishera Lately is the business reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. She can be reached at klately@cjonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @Lately_KT.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Release of body cam video sought by families of men Topeka police shot to death