Family of man who died after deputy knelt on him file wrongful death lawsuit

Relatives of a jail inmate who died after a Kansas sheriff's deputy shoved his knee into the cuffed man's back for one minute and 26 seconds as he repeatedly yelled “Help!” have filed a federal lawsuit.

Attorneys for the family of Charles Adair renewed their demand Friday that video of what happened be released publicly in announcing the wrongful death lawsuit.

Filed earlier this month, the lawsuit names the Wyandotte County sheriff, the unified government for the county and Kansas City, Kansas, and Richard Fatherley, who was charged last year with second-degree murder in Adair's death.

“The public has a right to transparency when someone dies in custody in this manner,” Ben Crump, an attorney who is representing the family, said in a news release.

Crump and another civil rights attorney, Harry Daniels, were allowed to view video of what happened. But the sheriff’s office has declined a records request from The Associated Press seeking the video.

Adair was arrested last July on misdemeanor warrants for failure to appear on multiple traffic violations. At the time, Adair’s leg needed to be amputated and was so badly infected that he was taken straight to the hospital, a Kansas Bureau of Investigation agent wrote in the affidavit.

Before Adair was cleared to return to the jail, he was diagnosed with a type of bone infection that sometimes develops in people with diabetes. A medical screening also found he was schizophrenic, the affidavit said.

The lawsuit said was incoherent and that deputies believed Adair’s medical condition “was affecting his brain.”

After having his leg rewrapped the following evening, he got into an argument with the deputy who was wheeling him back his cell. Adair ultimately threw himself out of the wheelchair, the affidavit said.

Once he was back in his cell, he was placed on his stomach on the bottom bunk, with his legs and knees on the ground.

The lawsuit noted that Adair was complying with commands but that Fatherley “pressed his body weight onto Mr. Adair's back.” Other deputies then removed Adair's handcuffs while Fatherley shifted his weight forward.

The lawsuit said none of the other law enforcement officers who were present intervened.

The lawsuit said the deputies failed to modify their tactics to account for Adair's apparent mental health impairment and weren't trained properly.

The lawsuit also said that Fatherely was allowed to continue using his sheriff's office email after he was charged, allowing him to communicate with other members of the sheriff's office and employees that he knew were witnesses.

Capt. Michael Kroening said Fatherely is on administrative leave and that his email was deactivated on April 13 after the litigation was filed.

Fatherley is free on bond with a status conference in the case set for next month. His attorney, James Spies, has said that Adair’s death was “a tragic accident” but it was not a result of Fatherley’s actions.