KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Mayor Mark Funkhouser described a controversial arrest caught on tape a “significant incident” that does not look good.
Click Here to Watch EXCLUSIVE Skytracker Footage of the Arrest.Funkhouser spoke exclusively with NBC Action News about the incident Tuesday evening.
“I saw the video, and from what I saw, it doesn’t look very good,” Mayor Funkhouser said. “But, you can’t really tell what’s going on until you know a lot more.”
Monday afternoon, Dandridge Washington, 26, led police from Kansas City, Mo., on a high-speed chase that crossed the Kansas state line.
Police say Washington was speeding and driving erratically. He crashed his SUV in the 1700 block of Quindaro Boulevard in Kansas City, Kan. Officers from KCK and Kansas City chased the suspect.
However, when he surrendered, lying face down on the ground with his hands behind his head, at least two officers repeatedly punched Washington.
Almost immediately, phone calls from citizens disturbed by what they saw poured into the KCK Police Department.
Mayor Funkhouser said he immediately got a phone call from his police chief, Jim Corwin.
“Anytime there’s a significant incident in the police department, they give us a call,” Funkhouser said. “This was one of those times.”
It is early in the investigation. So, it is still unclear what motivated at least two officers to repeatedly punch Washington.
He has a criminal history that includes convictions for theft, forgery and a guilty plea for attempted aggravated endangering the welfare of a child. He spent time in the Lansing Correctional Facility. In January, he finished a 180-day jail sentence for tampering with a motor vehicle in Kansas City.
But nothing in his past explains what happened in the video. The images bother Mayor Funkhouser. However, he says his own experiences in the public eye and his role as a member of the police Board of Commissioners compels him to reserve judgment.
“However it looks on the videotape, you don’t know what was going on before or after and it’s always a good idea to reserve judgment until there is a real investigation,” Funkhouser said.
Both police departments involved are engaged in a joint investigation. However, the Wyandotte County, Kan., district attorney will review each department’s findings.
