KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Brianna Hill’s estate is suing Kansas City, Missouri, police officers Charles Prichard and Matthew Brummett for “fair and reasonable” damages related to her arrest in May 2019 in the 1300 block of Brush Creek Boulevard.
“This case arises from the intentional, reckless and irresponsible assault and battery” of Hill, according to the Petition for Damages for Personal Injuries.
Brummett and Prichard were charged with misdemeanor assault in mid-May after a Jackson County grand jury indicted the officers for excessive force.
The lawsuit notes that the officers detained Hill for trespassing on a public sidewalk and “used excessive force to place handcuffs” on her during a May 24, 2019, arrest, which was caught on video by a passing motorist.
Attorneys for the Hill estate noted that the officers placed knees and elbows on Hill’s neck for a longer period of time than George Floyd was pinned to the ground by Minneapolis police when he was killed last month.
Hill’s head also was slammed into the concrete, her arms were twisted behind her back and her pained cries for help were ignored, according to the lawsuit.
Without specifying the actual amount sought in damages, the lawsuit calls the conduct of Prichard and Brummett “outrageous, intentional, unlawful, willful, wanton and reckless, and therefore demonstrated a deliberate and/or reckless indifference.”
Hill’s estate seeks “an award of punitive damages in an amount which will serve to punish Defendant and deter Defendants and others similarly situated from like conduct” as well as attorney’s fees.
Hill, a transgender woman, was shot to death in October 2019 after an argument near East 43rd Street and Hardesty Avenue, according to KCPD.
Prichard and Brummett, who are due in court Aug. 17, were taken off patrol last month after the Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office announced the charges.
Roderick Reed, the passing motorist, was subsequently cited for failing to obey a lawful command after the officers said he blocked traffic and refused to leave the scene.
He initially pleaded guilty, but the traffic charge was eventually overturned and Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Quinton Lucas subsequently pardoned Reed, who sued the city for $5 million, for not obeying the commands from Prichard and Brummett.
