A sworn affidavit from a Kansas Bureau of Investigation agent alleges Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Deputy Richard Fatherley kept his knee on Charles Adair’s back for about a minute and a half while deputies tried to subdue him in his cell.
The affidavit says Fatherley is seen on video putting his weight on Adair’s lower back with his knee or leg and pushing down with his left arm on Adair’s left shoulder, while other unnamed deputies held his legs and arms. Adair eventually moved his hands toward an unnamed deputy, who removed his handcuffs. But Adair, who was later pronounced dead, did not move again.
The outline of events, which began after Adair was treated for an infected leg while in custody, comes from an “Affidavit to Statement of Facts” from Special Agent Christine Reglin of the KBI. The Wyandotte County District Court released the affidavit with some names of sheriff deputies redacted in response to several media requests for the court document.
Adair, 50, was in jail on misdemeanor traffic tickets. He died July 5 after a sheriff’s deputy knelt on his back causing asphyxia. His death has been ruled a homicide.
Fatherley has been charged with second degree murder, or involuntary manslaughter if the jury decides against murder charges. Wyandotte County District Attorney Mark Dupree said Fatherley was issued a summons rather than being arrested. He said Fatherley cooperated with KBI agents and is not a flight risk.
Adair’s family has started a petition calling for Fatherley to be arrested. Ben Crump, a national civil rights attorney representing the family, said in a statement that justice must be upheld.
“The newly released affidavit confirms that Charles Adair was handcuffed, lying on his stomach with a severely injured leg, and posed no threat when a deputy pressed a knee into his back, resulting in his death,” Crump said.
Adair’s family has also called for the release of body camera footage. Crump has compared Adair’s death to the killing of George Floyd.
Affidavit timeline
Adair first came in contact with law enforcement when he tried to turn himself in to Kansas City, Kansas, police at the 7th Street Casino at 1:22 a.m. on July 4, according to the affidavit.
The police confirmed multiple misdemeanor warrants for traffic violations and took Adair to the Wyandotte County Detention Center. He was originally turned away so he could seek medical care for an infection on his leg.
Adair was then transported to the Providence Medical Center, where he arrived at 3:12 a.m. He was diagnosed with a bone infection in his leg and discharged at 4:25 a.m. He was transported back to the jail at 5:41 a.m., where a screening showed he has various medical conditions, including a pace maker, blood clots, high blood pressure and schizophrenia.
The affidavit alleges the event leading to Adair’s death began at 8:32 p.m. on July 5 as he was returning to his cell after receiving medical care for his leg.
While returning to the cell, Adair allegedly argued with an unnamed deputy because he wanted to control the wheelchair he was using, but the deputy refused because Adair was moving too slowly. Adair then locked the wheelchair’s wheels to stop moving.
While the deputy unlocked the wheels, Adair yelled that the deputy was trying to hit him. Adair then “throws himself” out of the wheelchair.
While on the ground, Adair was heard yelling indecipherable things. During interviews with the KBI, several deputies later said Adair was incoherent and they believed the infection from his leg was affecting his brain.
While deputies placed Adair back in his wheelchair, he almost hit them with his arms. The deputies then handcuffed Adair.
Deputies said that Adair continued to struggle but was eventually moved to his cell. While still in handcuffs, deputies picked Adair up from the wheelchair and placed him on the bottom bunk of the cell on his stomach. The affidavit alleges Adair can be heard yelling “help” while deputies were trying to subdue him.
While the top half of Adair’s body was on the bunk, his lower half was off the bed in a kneeling position.
At 8:36:22 p.m., Deputy Fatherley enters the cell and places his left knee on Adair’s lower back.
The affidavit alleges while Fatherley puts his weight on Adair, he can be heard
saying, "You're done, stop, give me your hands," and Adair responds with "OK.” Adair is then seen moving his hands toward an unnamed deputy and laying his head down on the bed.
Fatherley continued to keep his weight on Adair while another deputy removed handcuffs from Adair. The unnamed deputies then left the cell, and Adair no longer moved.
At 8:37:48 p.m., Fatherley removed his weight from Adair’s back and left the cell. Adair remained faced down on the bunk.
Shortly after, a nurse checked on Adair in accordance with the jail’s use of force policy. Two unnamed deputies also entered the cell, and their body camera footage shows Adair was still in the same position he was in when they left the cell.
The deputies tell Adair that the nurse was there to check on him, but got no response. They moved Adair’s body to the floor and found no pulse. They performed CPR until emergency responders arrived.
Adair was pronounced dead at 9:19 p.m.
During interviews, the KBI agent asked the deputies if they were trained on what to do when someone shows compliance. They all said they were educated on what to do in use of force situations and said “they were taught to stop all force, restraint techniques, and to monitor the situation to see if the person stays compliant, whether it be by verbal or physical means.”
Some of the deputies told the KBI agent that they thought Adair was eventually compliant. One said they stopped applying force to his legs once he was compliant, and another said they continued to hold him down in case he resisted again.
Another deputy, who removed Adair’s handcuffs, said they believed Adair was never compliant because his arms were tense.
Dylan Lysen reports on social services and criminal justice for the Kansas News Service. You can email him at dlysen (at) kcur (dot) org.
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