Lawrence police release video of officer shooting man after traffic stop

555 The Lawrence Police Department has released dashcam video of an officer shooting a motorist after a traffic stop that escalated into a fight. The incident resulted in a felony charge against the officer. The video is from the patrol vehicle of an officer who pulled over Lawrence resident Akira S. Lewis, 35, for not wearing a seat belt. It shows Lewis arguing with that officer, Ian McCann, who eventually calls for backup to arrest Lewis when he refuses to provide his identification. McCann and backup officer Brindley Blood try unsuccessfully to handcuff Lewis. Lewis then jumps out of the vehicle, punches McCann and tackles him. Blood runs to the men grappling on the pavement and shoots. She later told investigators she mistakenly drew and fired her gun instead of her Taser. Lewis has said, through his attorney and in court, that he believes he was unfairly pulled over because he is black and that McCann should have summoned a supervisor to the stop when he asked for one. The two officers are white. The Journal-World first requested video of the officer-involved shooting several days after it occurred. The city denied that request, saying at that time the materials were "part of an ongoing investigation" and "criminal investigation records." Blood, 36, is charged with aggravated battery, a felony, for allegedly recklessly hurting Lewis with a deadly weapon. Her attorneys argue that while Blood made a mistake she was not reckless and the charge should be dropped. After seeing the video and listening to other testimony Wednesday, Judge Peggy Kittel is weighing whether to bind Blood over for trial on the charge. Kittel is scheduled to announce her ruling later this week. Blood recently resigned from the police department in late January. Previously she had been on paid administrative leave. Lewis also is charged in the 2018 incident, with battery against a law enforcement officer, interference with law enforcement and driving without proof of insurance, all misdemeanors, and failure to wear a seat belt, a traffic infraction. At the time of the traffic stop and shooting, Lewis also had arrest warrants for failures to appear in court in three older traffic cases, one in Douglas County District Court, one in Lawrence Municipal Court and one in Johnson County District Court, according to court records obtained by the Journal-World. The Johnson County Sheriff's Office investigation into the Lawrence shooting confirmed Lewis' driver's license had been suspended since September 2017 with no eligibility date for reinstatement, and that he'd been ticketed six times since 2010 for driving without a valid license.

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