By Christine Vendel
Kansas City Star
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Police officials in the two Kansas Citys pledged Tuesday to investigate Monday’s arrest of a suspect who was punched by officers after a high-speed chase.
A camera on a helicopter for The Kansas City Star’s reporting partner, KSHB NBC Action News, captured footage of the arrest. It showed the suspect surrendering and lying on the ground before several officers moved in to arrest him.
One officer appeared to punch him in the head about 10 times as other officers handcuffed and held him down. Another officer near the suspect’s legs appeared to punch the man’s body as he wriggled.
Kansas City, Kan., police had chased the suspect vehicle earlier Monday but gave up after the driver fled into Missouri.
Kansas City police started a second chase Monday afternoon when officers saw the vehicle being driven recklessly in the Northland and believed the driver was intoxicated. Dispatchers also told police the vehicle had been involved in a shooting, burglary and domestic violence assault earlier in the day in Kansas City, Kan. The vehicle’s back window had been shot out.
Through the broken window, officers saw a woman in the back seat appearing to plead for help.
According to police reports, three women were in the vehicle with the male driver. The women later told police they had been smoking crack and drinking all day. They told police they “begged” the driver to stop fleeing from police, but he refused, according to the report.
On Tuesday, the Wyandotte County district attorney charged the driver, Dandridge N. Washington, 26, of Kansas City, Kan., with two counts of felony eluding in connection with the two pursuits. Washington was in the Wyandotte County Jail Tuesday night on a bond of $50,000.
Police said they were working to identify which officers were involved in Washington’s arrest and for which department each officer worked.
The police departments planned a joint investigation and asked witnesses and anyone with video evidence to call either police department, according to a news release.
Once the investigation is completed, the case will be given to the Wyandotte County district attorney’s office to review for possible charges, police said.
Kansas City, Kan., Police Chief Sam Breshears declined to comment specifically, but he did say, “It caused us some concern.”
Kansas City Police Chief Jim Corwin also said he was concerned by the video but wanted to reserve judgment until the investigation was completed.
“It’s my job to make sure we find the facts,” he said. “We need to make sure this is done the proper way.”
The chase that preceded Washington’s arrest reportedly reached speeds up to 110 miles per hour as his drove along Interstate 670 toward Kansas City, Kan.
Police from Kansas City followed the vehicle across the state line, where Kansas City, Kan., officers joined the pursuit. An officer tossed a tire-deflating device into a roadway, crippling the vehicle near the 1700 block of Quindaro Boulevard.
Washington and three women jumped from the vehicle, which crashed into a utility pole. Officers chased Washington into a field, where he put his hands in the air and then behind his head before lying on the ground.
One officer rushed to handcuff the suspect and placed his knee in the suspect’s back as several other officers arrived. As officers surrounded the suspect, several punches were thrown.
The video showing the arrest was also picked up by national TV networks such as CNN.
Copyright 2009 Kansas City Star