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Tyrea Pryor’s family rallies for charges following fatal police shooting, prosecutor explains reasoning

By Cyndi Fahrlander, Angie Ricono, Greg Milota

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    JACKSON COUNTY, Missouri (KCTV) — The family of a man killed by Independence, Missouri, police in March of last year is demanding justice. On Thursday, they took to the steps of the Jackson Country Courthouse to make their case.

“They killed him over a pistol that did not exist,” said Harry Daniels, an attorney for the family. “They killed him over a gun that did not exist.”

Tyrea Pryor, 39, was eluding police when the car he was driving crashed, trapping him inside.

Dash camera video reveals officers knew there was an AR-15 wedged in the car. An officer believes he also sees a pistol. He yells to other officers: “Hey! He’s got a gun, man! Get down!”

Two officers opened fire into the car. Combined, there were 22 shots. However, no pistol was found.

After reviewing the case, the Jackson County prosecutor declined to charge the officers.

Attorneys for the family question how the prosecutor came to her decision.

“Why would the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office not send this case to the grand jury, so that the citizens of Jackson County could determine whether or not the Independence police officers should be held accountable?” asked Arimeta DuPree, an attorney for the family.

The victim’s oldest son told those gathered that he’s still hurting.

“It’s very hurting,” said Tyrea Pryor Jr. “I feel like it could happen to me, too. Can we please hold those police officers accountable for what they did?”

During the rally, Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker’s office released an 11-page letter revealing more details of the shooting. She included pictures of the car Pryor crashed into while running a red light. It also reveals a communications breakdown. Officers who fired their guns didn’t realize another officer with a gun was in the back of the Dodge, moving around and trying to get the AR-15 rifle out.

She explains the legal standard in these case is “reasonable belief” — did the officers reasonably believe they were in danger?

“The law does not require that a belief be found to be true for it to be reasonable,” she said in the letter.

The letter concludes: “[O]ur Committee did not come to this decision lightly and this decision should not be interpreted as a statement indicating that the State believes the ‘right’ or ‘just’ thing happened… [W]e do not believe the facts and law support charges here.”

The prosecutor’s letter was also sent to federal authorities for a separate review. You can read the full letter here.

Late Thursday, Independence Police Chief Adam Dustman released a statement in response to the rally:

The men and women of the Independence Police Department are sworn to keep people safe and when there is a fatality, it weighs heavily on all of us. Any loss of life is tragic. Each instance in which our officers utilize force of any kind is reviewed and evaluated to help us adapt training. Further, any officer-involved shooting is reviewed by an external agency and then evaluated by the relevant Prosecutor’s Office. We are constantly working to improve our ability to respond to intense situations and ensure our officers are prepared to provide the services needed during any call they receive.

Independence Police Chief Adam Dustman

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