KANSAS CITY, MO – Attorneys for the family of Tyrea M. Pryor, the 39-year-old black man shot and killed by Independence Police Department (IPD) officers Jamie Welsh and Hunter Soule in Jackson County, MO, are asking the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate why officers gunned down Pryor while he was trapped in a wrecked vehicle over a pistol that simply didn’t exist.
Pryor’s family is represented by nationally renown civil rights attorney Harry Daniels and Arimeta DuPree.
Attorneys released dashcam video of the shooting last week as well as a report, part of an investigation by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, which quoted Welsh saying he clearly observed a gun in Pryor’s hand and the 39-year-old black man was moving to point the gun at him and his fellow officers prompting him to shout “gun” and open fire with Soule hitting Pryor multiple times in the head and body and killing him. Unfortunately, only minutes after the Welsh and Soule opened fire, another officer securing the vehicle can clearly be heard saying “I don’t see a pistol.”
No handgun was recovered at the scene and the only firearm in the car was an AR-15 rifle that was secured by fellow IPD officer Alex Steele at the time Welsh and Soule opened fire. In fact, Steele was in the line of fire and was almost hit when at least one bullet fired by his fellow officers flew by his head. The incident occurred on March 11, 2022
An unidentified white woman, one of Pryor’s passengers, was also in the line of fire and can be seen and heard clearly on the video.
“This isn’t excessive force; it’s outrageous force,” said Daniels. “These officers killed an unarmed man and almost killed an innocent bystander and a fellow officer. The District Attorney may think that’s fine. But I seriously doubt the DOJ will.”