KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A letter detailing the Jackson County Prosecutor's Office's findings in the case of Tyrea Pryor's death was sent to Pryor's family along with Independence Police Chief Adam Dustman on Thursday.
Pryor was shot and killed by Independence police in March 2022.
Police were called to the 800 block of West College Street on reports of people banging on the front door of a residence.
But as police arrived, a white vehicle sped off. A short time later, the vehicle was involved in a crash at U.S. 24 Highway and Noland Road.
Two officers surrounded the vehicle with weapons drawn, and one eventually climbed inside the vehicle to determine Pryor's injuries.
Court documents state one officer thought Pryor was moving to grab a pistol but no pistol was recovered. There was, however, a rifle found in proximity to Pryor.
The letter released Thursday states the prosecutor's office determined there were "insufficient established facts in this case to demonstrate that the officers' beliefs were unreasonable at the time of the shooting."
In addition to the letter, the prosecutor's office released a statement on its release, including explaining why Pryor's case was not presented to a Jackson County grand jury.
The prosecutor's office says a grand jury is only used when a witness' credibility is in question, which was not a factor in this instance, as the office prioritizes using as "open a process as possible."
On the same day of the letter's release, friends and family of Pryor, who are still looking for truth and transparency one year later, demanded action during a rally outside of the Jackson County Courthouse.
"We can no longer stand by and let families suffer without answer," Bishop Tony Caldwell said during the rally. "Everyone needs to be held accountable."
Pryor's son Tyree Pryor Jr. also spoke during the rally. He says he is afraid of being pulled over after what happened to his dad.
"It just feels very hurtful," Tyree Pryor Jr. said. "I feel like it can happen to me, too."
In response to the letter release and rally, Independence Chief of Police Adam Dustman released a statement regarding the letter.
The men and women of the Independence Police Department are sworn to keep people safe and when there is a fatality, it weighs heavily on all of us. Any loss of life is tragic. Each instance in which our officers utilize force of any kind is reviewed and evaluated to help us adapt training. Further, any officer-involved shooting is reviewed by an external agency and then evaluated by the relevant Prosecutor’s Office. We are constantly working to improve our ability to respond to intense situations and ensure our officers are prepared to provide the services needed during any call they receive.
The Pryor family's legal team wants the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the case.
“The way you stop these things from happening, the way you stop Tyrea (Junior) from being scared riding down the street in his car is that you hold those accountable who look at him as a threat by just being a Black man driving in his car," said Harry Daniels, an Atlanta-based attorney representing Pryor's family.
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