Charges filed against teen in fatal wreck that killed Kansas City police officer

The Star

A Tonganoxie man faces charges for a crash that killed a Kansas City patrol officer, a pedestrian, and the officer’s K-9 police dog Wednesday night.

Prosecutors have filed two counts of involuntary manslaughter against Jerron Lightfoot, 18, for operating a vehicle at an excessive speed and running a red light, causing the crash that took the life of officer James Muhlbauer and his police K-9 Champ, along with a pedestrian, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said in a statement Friday.

The crash occurred about 10:15 p.m. Wednesday when the officer’s patrol car was hit by another vehicle near Truman Road and Benton Boulevard. The impact caused a secondary collision with a pedestrian, said Sgt. Jake Becchina, a Kansas City Police department spokesman.

Kansas City police were investigating a crash involving a police vehicle and another vehicle that occurred Wednesday night near the intersection of Truman Road and Benton Boulevard. One pedestrian was dead on scene, a police officer was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries and the other driver was detained as part of the police investigation.

According to court records filed Thursday, officers who responded to the crash saw a man standing by a white Ford Fusion, one of the crashed vehicles. The man was identified as Lightfoot, the driver and sole occupant of the Ford.

The other vehicle in the crash was Muhlbauer’s marked police car, where the police officer was found in the driver’s seat, unconscious. Authorities say he was wearing a seatbelt. His police K-9 Champ was found dead in the back second row. The officer was transported to an area hospital and later pronounced deceased. Police found a second deceased male, a man in his 50s who has not been publicly identified, under the police vehicle.

Court records say crash video showed the police officer traveling east on Truman Road with a green light at the intersection with Benton. The white Ford was shown traveling south on Benton Boulevard at a high rate of speed, and authorities say it failed to stop at the red light just prior to striking the police vehicle. Prosecutors say the officer’s dash cam also showed he had a green light as he went through the intersection.

Authorities said tests of the Ford’s electronic ACM system showed the vehicle’s brakes were working prior to the crash, and that the vehicle was traveling at 85 miles per hour or more just before impact.

Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said their office had spoken with the family of the officer, and will meet soon with the pedestrian victim’s family, adding, “We extend our condolences to both grieving families and the police department. We are grateful for the pace of the police department’s investigative work that allowed us to file these charges so quickly.”

In a news conference Thursday, city officials expressed their grief about the tragedy, noting both Muhlbauer and his K-9 Champ were serving the city when they died.

“The officers were serving and protecting this city,” Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said. “They were putting themselves in harms way. They were being public servants the city needs. And in the moment we lost them. Our department is hurting. We’re sad and we’re shaken.”

Muhlbauer had spent his career in the patrol division, including the past three years with the K-9 unit. He was married and a father.

“Please keep them in your prayers,” Graves said, noting a child had lost his “best friend.”

They said North Kansas City police officers had transported Champ to the hospital to be reunited with Muhlbauer.

“Together both Officer Muhlbauer and Canine Champ were given a heroes’ escort,” Graves said.

Peters Baker said her office had worked closely with Muhlbauer on a quintuple homicide. In 2014, he arrested Brandon Howell, who was later convicted of five counts of first-degree murder.

In a message posted to Twitter, Mayor Quinton Lucas said the city is grieving for the officer, the pedestrian and the police dog.

“This morning, our city mourns the loss of life of a twenty-year veteran of the Kansas City Police Department, along with an innocent civilian and a canine officer,” Lucas wrote. “My prayers are with the families and friends of those we have lost and all of the women and men of law enforcement.”

Outside KCPD Headquarters, a patrol car is parked, flowers adorning its windshield in honor of the officers.

There, KCPD invites citizens to pay their respects for Champ and Muhlbauer.

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