From [HERE] Backed by a team of local and national civil rights attorneys, the family of Tyrea M. Pryor Sr., a 39-year-old Black man killed by Independence Police, filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against the City of Independence and the officers who shot Pryor.

The lawsuit seeks at least $25 million in damages for wrongful death and excessive use of force by officers Hunter Soule and Jamie Welsh.

On March 11, 2022, a police pursuit ended in a crash near the intersection of U.S. 24 and Noland Road. Pryor, who was driving the vehicle, was left incapacitated by the crash. Multiple officers surrounded the vehicle, guns drawn, according to a letter from the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office. Two passengers exited the vehicle, but Pryor was stuck.

An assault-style rifle was lodged between the driver’s seat and the console. Officer Welsh thought he saw Pryor reach for a gun from his waistband and said, “Hey, he’s got a gun.” Police then fired more than 20 times into the vehicle, striking Pryor approximately 15 times, according to the lawsuit.

Dashcam video showed the incident. Pryor can be heard moaning in pain before he was shot.

In March, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker declined to press criminal charges, stating that although the officer was wrong in thinking Pryor had a pistol, there was not enough evidence to prove the officers were not justified in their shooting.

John Burris, a California-based civil rights attorney and one of the family’s lawyers, said due to the extent of Pryor’s injuries, the officer’s first step should have been to see if he needed medical attention.

“I wonder if it's only because there was a Black man in a car . . . Although we haven't had to allege a race in this case, it's understood that many of these shootings of African American men were unarmed,” Burris said at a press conference Thursday. “This is another example. Although there was a weapon in a car, he himself was unarmed. He himself was not trying to reach for a gun. So in our way of thinking, this is clearly a violation of his civil rights.”

Attorneys for the family said the Department of Justice is also looking into the case. They say Pryor’s three children, ages 17, 15, and 12, would be the beneficiaries of any settlement.

Burris said the children’s lives will never be the same. [MORE]