OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — An attorney representing the city of Overland Park has asked the judge to toss out the 41 Action News lawsuit petition to obtain key records in the fatal police shooting of a 17-year-old boy.
41 Action News filed that suit last week to get the Johnson County Officer Involved Shooting Investigation Team or OISIT report on the incident.
On January 20, 2018, Overland Park police officers responded to a call to check on 17-year-old John Albers, who reportedly might hurt himself.
Dashcam and doorbell video of that incident shows Overland Park Officer Clayton Jenison fatally shot the teen as Albers started to back the family minivan out of the driveway.
The OISIT report was completed six days after the incident.
The city of Overland Park denied a request by 41 Action News for the completed report.
To date, now more than three years after the fatal shooting, the OISIT report has not been made public.
In a newly filed response to the 41 Action News lawsuit to obtain the report, Overland Park’s attorney Brett Runyon asks the judge to dismiss the petition and to make us file a new one.
Runyon claims our petition violates Kansas state law because it’s too long.
Runyon writes the only plausible motive for what he calls 41 Action News’ “grossly excessive” petition is to “create a media splash and generate news traffic on its website and other platforms, as well as creating an irresponsible and inflated claim for attorneys’ fees.”
The motion, however, does not address the substance of the lawsuit.
Runyon does not explain in that motion why the city of Overland Park should continue to deny our request for the OISIT report.
