A Kansas deputy tased a 12-year-old autistic boy who was handcuffed, shackled and hogtied
A Jackson County sheriff's deputy used his Taser on a 12-year-old autistic boy without warning as the youth sat handcuffed, shackled and hogtied in the deputy's vehicle.
The state's law enforcement oversight body says Matthew Honas on Feb. 23 used excessive force multiple times on the boy, including tying him up in a manner that threatened "his ability to breathe properly."
The Kansas Commission on Peace Officers' Standards and Training on Aug. 22 issued an order of reprimand to Honas. While Honas was discharged March 3 from his deputy's job in Jackson County, the commission chose not to revoke his certification as a law enforcement officer.
The encounter was captured on Honas' in-car camera, KSCPOST said.
Jackson County counselor Lee Hendricks rejected The Topeka Capital-Journal's open records request for the video.
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Incident was caught on Jackson County deputy's in-car video
Honas used excessive force upon the boy, identified only as "L.H.," after being dispatched on a report that he was trying to run away from foster care, KSCPOST said.
"Among other actions, (Honas) tased the child without warning while the child was handcuffed and 'hog tied,'" it said.
Honas knew the boy was autistic and had previously been in a physical struggle with him, though there was no report or body camera footage regarding that incident, KSCPOST said.
While Honas wasn't wearing a body camera during the Feb 23 incident, most of the interaction was captured on his in-car camera, the report said.
Honas clearly "struggled with, shoved, elbowed, applied pressure points, carried, pulled, 'hog-tied' and ultimately tased L.H.," KCSPOST said.
"Of particular concern, L.H. was sitting in the patrol car at one point and not actively resisting," it said. "His hands were cuffed behind his back and (Honas) began to press L.H.'s jaw pressure points without giving any direction to L.H. to do anything. This appeared to be of a punitive nature, particularly with the dialogue between (Honas) and L.H. at the time."
About five minutes later, Honas tased the boy without warning as he was sitting in the patrol vehicle with his feet outside the vehicle, KSCPOST said.
"At the time, L.H. was handcuffed behind his back, had ankle shackles on and had the handcuffs connected to the ankle shackles," it said. "L.H. was not a threat to (Honas) or other officers."
Deputy's actions appeared punitive
KSCPOST said the unreasonableness of Honas' use of force was compounded by the following facts:
He "'hog tied' L.H., threatening his ability to breathe properly."
His actions "on several occasions appeared to be punitive in nature."
He applied "pain compliance" without giving direction to the boy regarding what he was supposed to do.
He told the boy, "When the other guy gets here, you're going to hurt more."
He refused and canceled assistance from two other available officers.
He said he was going to call a transport van, but did not.
He told the boy he would tase him again if he did anything he was not supposed to do.
He used inappropriate language, include profanity.
He did not use de-escalation techniques or other means to persuade the boy to comply.
He failed to use other options to restrain the boy.
KVC, which is the foster care contractor for northeast Kansas, including Jackson County, said they could not comment due to patient privacy laws and referred reporters to the Kansas Department for Children and Families. DCF did not immediately return a request for comment.
Deputy's certification wasn't revoked
Honas was employed as a full-time officer with the Jackson County Sheriff's Office from Aug. 25, 2006, to April 1, 2013, and from Sept. 19, 2018, to March 3, 2022, and was a part-time officer with that office during the time in between, KSCPOST said.
He was paid $23.55 an hour as a deputy, according to Jackson County Commission records.
Kansas statute empowers KSCPOST to "suspend, condition or revoke the certification of a police officer or law enforcement officer" and to "reprimand or censure a police officer or law enforcement officer."
In choosing to reprimand Honas, KSCPOST said he engaged in unprofessional conduct by using excessive physical force, which it defined as being "greater than what a reasonable and prudent officer would use under the circumstances."
KSCPOST so far this year has revoked the certification of 39 Kansas law enforcement officers and reprimanded three others, including Honas, according to its website.
Michelle Meier, KSCPOST's legal counsel, said Monday she couldn't comment on specific actions taken by the commission.
Jackson County counselor: Disclosure could lead to identification as a 'snitch'
The Capital-Journal submitted a Kansas Open Records Act on Friday request seeking video of their Feb. 23 interaction from Jackson County.
Jackson County counselor Lee Hendricks denied that request in an email Monday.
In denying The Capital-Journal's KORA request, Hendricks cited a section of the Kansas Open Records Act that allows criminal investigation records to be kept secret.
He didn't say which agency was investigating Honas. Jackson County Sheriff Tim Morse didn't respond by midday Tuesday to requests for comment from The Topeka Capital-Journal.
"The disclosure and publicity of recorded encounters with law enforcement is not in the public interest," Hendricks wrote. "Persons who know their statements and encounters with law enforcement may become public will tend against providing information for fear of that publicity — whether it being identified in the community as a 'snitch' or for fear of embarrassing information being disclosed."
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County's argument is consistent with 1987 court ruling, 2002 affirmation
Jackson County "would be hard-pressed to continue to argue for blanket nondisclosure of the video were it faced with a lawsuit," said Max Kautsch, a Lawrence attorney and president of the Kansas Coalition for Open Government.
Jackson County's response to The Capital-Journal's request is consistent with the 1987 Kansas Supreme Court decision in the case of Harris Enterprises v. Moore, Kautsch said.
The high court in that case affirmed a district court's decision not to order disclosure of requested records because the documents involved "contained no factual information which would promote the public interest," he said.
The Kansas Supreme Court reaffirmed that thinking in its 2002 decision in the case of Willis v. Kansas Highway Patrol, saying that raw criminal investigation files are sensitive and nearly always contain the names of many innocent people, Kautsch said.
"Where the files are open to public scrutiny, the potential for injury is great," that ruling said. "In addition, if criminal investigation files are open, many people with information which might lead to a resolution of the investigation will refuse to disclose such information. Investigations will be badly hampered. Thus, only under very restricted circumstances may the district court require disclosure."
But the legal landscape has shifted regarding police misconduct
"But I would hazard to say that by 2022, the legal landscape has shifted under the feet of law enforcement agencies hoping to rely on the Harris court's interpretation of the public interest component of the open records law to keep police misconduct secret," Kautsch said.
He said that in 2021, the Wichita Eagle successfully sued under KORA to acquire videos of police misconduct.
District Judge Jeffrey L. Goering, who ordered disclosure, wrote on Page 14 of his ruling that "when there is misconduct or even alleged misconduct, it is in the public interest to know exactly what happened and what remedial steps have been taken to address such misconduct, if any."
Goering rejected the Harris ruling before reaching that conclusion. He also ordered the city of Wichita to pay the Eagle's attorney fees, Kautsch said.
He said the city of Overland Park in 2021 then abandoned the position Hendricks seems to take in his email, responding to a KORA request by turning over records regarding a situation in which teenager John Albers, who had been threatening suicide, was shot 13 times by a police officer as Albers backed his family minivan out of their garage.
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Transparency about police misconduct is 'always in the public interest'
Kautsch added that the Kansas Attorney General's office concluded in a 2006 ruling that "records are in the public interest when they 'shed any light on the conduct of any Government agency or official.'"
"Certainly the video in this case would qualify," he said.
The misconduct in Honas' case is public knowledge, so no privacy interests outweigh the public interest because the video shows police misconduct, and police misconduct is inherently in the public interest, he said.
"Given the results in the Wichita Eagle and Albers cases, and the clear trend toward a judicial understanding that police misconduct is always in the public interest, it seems Jackson County would be hard-pressed to continue to argue for blanket nondisclosure of the video were it faced with a lawsuit," he said.
Tim Hrenchir can be reached at threnchir@gannett.com or 785-213-5934.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas deputy fired for tasing handcuffed, shackled autistic boy
