Kansas City police officer kneels on man’s neck in mistaken arrest over $5 Walmart frozen pizza
Department said officers’ tactics were not part of accepted training
Police in Kansas City were seen on video violently arresting a man they mistakenly believed had stolen a $5 frozen pizza from Walmart, even though he had a receipt in his pocket.
In video of the incident, which has gone viral on social media, officers can be seen kneeling on top of Dayton Borisouth, 24, including appearing to rest their body weight on his neck, the same kind of police tactics that killed George Floyd in 2020 and set off nationwide protests.
Mr Borisouth, a home remodeler, can be seen in the video insisting with officers, “Here’s the f***ing receipt bro, read it,” and, “I just gave you my f***ing receipt.”
The 24-year-old told KCTV the incident began when he went to the store to buy a frozen pizza for his family, and was asked by an in-store policeman whether he had his receipt, telling the officer “yes” but continuing to walk away.
Officers pursued the man and continued asking for the receipt, he told the station.
“The off-duty officer observed the individual walking towards the exit with unbagged merchandise. When requested to present his receipt, the individual refused, became belligerent and continued out the door despite the officer’s verbal commands. It is our determination that the officer should have disengaged at that time due to the circumstances,” the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department said in a statement, adding that it had disciplined two officers involved.
The department “concluded that one of the responding officers employed techniques that are not approved, nor trained, by the Department,” KCKPD said. The department also requested that charges of noncompliance against Mr Borisouth be dropped.
The Independent has contacted the department seeking the names of the officers involved and how specifically they were punished.
“It makes me feel a little bit better that they’re starting to realize that I’m not a criminal,” Mr Borisouth told KCTV. “I was just trying to buy a pizza for my family to eat. No matter what, this is going to stick with me for the rest of my life. I’m probably always going to be scared of cops now and fearing for my daughter and my son and what they’re going to have to go through as they get older.”