{"id":23908,"date":"2016-06-01T10:25:09","date_gmt":"2016-06-01T17:25:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=23908"},"modified":"2016-06-01T10:25:09","modified_gmt":"2016-06-01T17:25:09","slug":"ex-cop-sentenced-four-years-prison-critically-injuring-restrained-teen-traffic-stop-video","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=23908","title":{"rendered":"Ex-Cop Sentenced to Four Years in Prison for Critically Injuring Restrained Teen After Traffic Stop (Video)"},"content":{"rendered":"

MISSOURI<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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A federal judge sentenced an Independence, Missouri police officer to four years in prison for dropping a restrained 17-year-old on the ground face-first after a traffic stop, according to officials.<\/span><\/p>\n

Evidence indicated that the tasing of 17-year-old Bryce Masters resulted in a cardiac arrest as a result of the Sept. 14, 2014 incident, according to officials.<\/span><\/p>\n

As part of his guilty plea, Timothy Runnels<\/strong> admitted that while he was employed as an officer of the Independence Police Department, he deprived Masters of his civil rights by deliberately dropping the minor face first onto the ground while Masters was restrained and not posing a threat to Runnels or others.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to the court filings, Runnels also admitted that his actions resulted in bodily injury to the minor.<\/span><\/p>\n

During a sentencing hearing before U.S. District Court Judge Dean Whipple,<\/strong>\u00a0the evidence showed that Runnels also deployed his taser into the minor\u2019s chest during a traffic stop and then caused the electric current to run for approximately 20 seconds, four times longer than officers are trained to deploy a taser.<\/span><\/p>\n

The incident was caught on dash camera video.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although the minor suffered cardiac arrest and facial injuries, he survived the incident due to timely medical treatment by emergency personnel at the scene and at the hospital. He was put in a medically induced coma and treated for lack of oxygen in the brain, according to federal prosecutors.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to a KMBC TV 9 News report, this what was in the police incident report:\u00a0Runnells said he first spotted the silver Pontiac with darkly tinted windows.When Runnells ran the car\u2019s plates, a report came back linking the vehicle to an arrest warrant for a female, the TV report states.<\/span><\/p>\n

The TV report states Runnells said he couldn\u2019t see who was in the car because of the dark windows, so he followed the car through a McDonald\u2019s parking lot and stopped it.<\/span><\/p>\n

The police report states Runnells smelled marijuana from the passenger\u2019s side window when he stopped the car.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to the incident report, Runnels said he ordered Masters to get out of the car and when he refused, the confrontation escalated and Runnells used the Taser. Masters suffered a medical emergency after the Taser was used on him and was taken to a hospital in critical condition, according to the TV report.<\/span><\/p>\n

Runnells said he carried Masters to the side of the road, the TV report states.<\/span><\/p>\n