KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas City police officer who was seen on a viral video pepper spraying a man and his teenage daughter at a protest last summer has been charged with assault, the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office announced Friday.
Nicholas McQuillen, 38, faces a misdemeanor charge of fourth degree assault. A grand jury indictment alleges McQuillen “recklessly caused physical pain to ... a juvenile, by spraying a chemical agent at and/or near her face and eyes.”
Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker’s office announced the indictment late Friday afternoon. Baker said she “wasn’t given the choice” outside that process because the Kansas City Police Department chose to investigate itself in the matter and refused to issue a probable cause statement.
“Police are normally eager to provide (probable cause) statements on cases they investigate, and they provide them on every other type of case, except for these,” Baker said. “KCPD is the only law enforcement entity who takes this position, which cuts off my independent judgment on case review.”
The incident occurred at a demonstration in Kansas City that, like others across the nation, followed the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The trial of the Minneapolis officer who was captured on video kneeling on Floyd’s neck began this week in Minnesota.
On May 30, Tarence Maddox and his daughter joined the protests at the Country Club Plaza. In a video that has been viewed more than 8.6 million times on social media, a line of Kansas City police officers faces a group of protesters near West 47th Street and Mill Creek Parkway.
Maddox is heard yelling about police brutality and officers “prematurely using excessive force.”
Then about six officers approach Maddox, grab him and deploy pepper spray.
Maddox was pulled onto the street and taken into custody. No charges were filed, according to court records.
Some in the crowd responded with expletives. One man could be heard yelling, “he has a First Amendment right!”
Attorney Tom Porto, who is representing the victim, said in a statement Friday that the officer’s charged conduct is “absolutely indefensible.”
“A 15-year-old girl had the equivalent of bear spray sprayed in her face from centimeters away,” Porto said. “The grand jury got it right.”
Following the incident, Police Chief Rick Smith defended the officers’ actions. He said he saw officers in the video moving in to do an “extraction and arrest,” and that the video showed members of the crowd throwing objects at officers.
In June, Baker said her office was reviewing the incident. During the investigation, two sergeants noted to investigators that officers are discouraged from pepper-spraying civilians directly in the eyes at close range. The general training guidelines also suggest that the type of device McQuillen had should be used on a crowd rather than an individual person, they added.
McQuillen declined to provide a statement to investigators.
Kansas City police spokeswoman Officer Donna Drake said in a statement that McQuillen has been with the department since 2014 and is assigned to the patrol bureau.
Drake said the police department provided information to federal and county prosecutors as well as the FBI, regarding potential police civil rights violations.
“We respect and support the judicial process,” Drake wrote, referring any additional questions to the prosecutor’s office.
The Kansas City Fraternal Order of Police said in a statement that it was aware of the charge.
“The FOP is very disappointed that the Prosecuting Attorney would bring such a charge when Officer McQuillen employed the lowest level of force available to him,” the FOP wrote. The statement continued: “We believe this charge has no merit and the FOP will fully support Officer McQuillen as he challenges it in Court.”
The summer protests for racial justice led to more than 150 arrests in Kansas City. Police doused pepper spray and fired tear gas several times, provoking criticism and calls for Smith to resign.
In August, Maddox filed a lawsuit against McQuillen and two other officers. A jury trial is scheduled for Jan. 24, 2022.
McQuillen is the fifth Kansas City police officer to be criminally charged in the past 10 months. All of the victims in those cases have been Black.
In May, Matthew G. Brummett and Charles Prichard were charged with misdemeanor assault related to their use of force during the arrest of Breona Hill. The charges were later upgraded to felony assault. Their trial is set for Dec. 6.
Eric J. DeValkenaere was indicted for first-degree involuntary manslaughter in the Dec. 3, 2019 killing of Cameron Lamb, 26. The detective’s trial is set to start July 12.
In August, Sgt. Matthew T. Neal was indicted on a felony assault charge involving a 15-year-old. The teen suffered a gash on his head and broken teeth.
Neal’s trial is scheduled for Nov. 15. The board of commissioners has already agreed to a $725,000 civil settlement.
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