Dashcam video released by Lawrence Police Department shows a Kansas police officer shooting and wounding a man in a case in which the rookie officer told investigators she mistakenly fired her firearm instead of her Taser. The dash cam video is from the patrol vehicle of an officer who pulled over 35-year-old Akira Lewis for a suspected seatbelt violation in May 2018 near downtown Lawrence, the Lawrence Journal-World report ed. Lewis is heard in the video telling the white officer that he was pulled over because he is black and insists on seeing a supervisor. When he refuses to provide identification and continues arguing, backup officer Brindley Blood, who also is white, was summoned. She is seen shooting Lewis when he punches and tackles the officer who initiated the traffic stop. Blood, who resigned from the police force in January after being placed on paid leave, is charged with aggravated battery. Lewis was treated at a hospital and is charged with several misdemeanors, including battery against a law enforcement officer.
The affidavit in the case against Blood said she didn’t realize she had shot Lewis until she looked for the Taser wires to see if they had hit their mark and realized there weren’t any. She said during her interview with investigators, “I shot, shot him, I pulled my firearm instead of my Taser,” the affidavit said. The city initially denied the Journal-World’s request for the video, saying at that time the materials were “part of an ongoing investigation” and “criminal investigation records.” The newspaper again requested the video last week, after it was played in Douglas County District Court during a hearing for Blood. Judge Peggy Kittel is weighing whether to bind Blood over for trial. Her attorneys argue that while Blood made a mistake she was not reckless, as the charge alleges, and that the case against her should be dropped. Kittel is scheduled to announce her ruling later this week.
