Saveion McConnell Police Shooting, Body-Camera Video Released After Missouri Prosecutor Declines Charges

On October 5, 2026, attorneys for the family of Saveion McConnell, a 19-year-old from Lee’s Summit, Missouri, released two excerpts of body-camera video from his fatal shooting by a Lafayette County sheriff’s deputy on May 1, 2026. The release came about three weeks after the Johnson County Prosecuting Attorney decided not to file criminal charges against the deputy.

This is not a settlement and not a class action. No settlement, claim form or compensation program exists. The family’s attorneys say their civil investigation is ongoing, and no completed wrongful-death or civil-rights complaint has been verified. The account of the video below comes mainly from the family’s attorneys. The prosecutor reached a different conclusion, and no court has decided who is right.

Saveion McConnell Shooting Quick Facts

Detail	Information
Decedent	Saveion McConnell, 19, of Lee’s Summit, Missouri
Date	Early morning of May 1, 2026
Location	Along U.S. Highway 50 in Johnson County, Missouri
Deputy who fired	Lafayette County Sheriff’s Deputy Kenneth Lewie
Body camera	Odessa Police Officer Nathan Holmberg’s camera, described by the attorneys as the only known body-worn camera footage of the shooting
Shots	Nine fired. An autopsy found eight gunshot wounds, per the family’s attorneys
Weapon on McConnell	None. The attorneys describe this as undisputed
Criminal charges	None. Johnson County Prosecuting Attorney Robert W. Russell decided on September 14, 2026, not to charge the deputy
Civil proceeding	The family filed a petition on July 17, 2026, in the 17th Judicial Circuit Court, Johnson County, Missouri, seeking video and records
Civil case number	Not verified from a public court record
Wrongful-death or civil-rights complaint	None verified
Settlement	None
Official settlement website, claim form or deadline	None. Not applicable

What Happened

Officers were searching for McConnell after a handgun discharged inside a car carrying him and several friends and wounded the driver. According to the family’s attorneys, the prosecutor’s memo does not find that McConnell fired the gun. It reports that the driver identified him because he was seated behind her, and that another passenger said the gun went off while McConnell and another passenger were passing it. The memo concludes there was insufficient evidence to charge anyone in that incident.

Officers then encountered McConnell and another young man walking along the highway. The attorneys say he followed commands at first but ran when an officer moved to handcuff him. The deputy’s patrol car then struck McConnell. According to the memo as described by the attorneys, the deputy told investigators he hit McConnell unintentionally while trying to block him from reaching another car. The attorneys dispute that claim.

What the Family’s Attorneys Say the Video Shows

Attorneys Benjamin Crump and Romanucci & Blandin, LLC say the second video clip shows that:

• McConnell had stopped near the side of the highway and was ordered to get on the ground.
• The deputy stood a few feet away with his gun drawn, and the video does not capture him ordering McConnell to show his hands.
• Another officer, farther back, had a Taser drawn and shouted “Taser.”
• McConnell’s hands moved toward his waist, which the attorneys say appears consistent with pulling up his pants.
• The deputy fired nine times, including five after McConnell had fallen, according to the attorneys.

These are the attorneys’ characterizations. They are not court findings. The second clip depicts the shooting.

What the Prosecutor Decided

Johnson County Prosecuting Attorney Robert W. Russell announced on September 14, 2026, that he would not file criminal charges against Deputy Lewie. His decision applies Missouri’s criminal standard for the justified use of deadly force. As reported, he pointed to the earlier shooting, information that McConnell could be armed, McConnell’s flight, and the movement of his hand toward his waistband as captured on camera.

According to the attorneys, the prosecutor’s memo also says civil cases apply a different burden of proof and different standards for the use of force. Firearms were found in the car connected to the earlier shooting, not on McConnell.

Does the Prosecutor’s Decision End the Matter?

No. A decision not to prosecute is not a civil court finding that a shooting was lawful. A criminal case requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt under state law. A civil claim, such as one under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 or Missouri’s wrongful-death law, uses a lower burden, the preponderance of the evidence, and different legal tests. In a federal excessive-force analysis, the focus is whether the force was objectively reasonable given what the officer knew and perceived at that moment.

Is There a Lawsuit?

The family filed a petition on July 17, 2026, in the 17th Judicial Circuit Court in Johnson County. It sought body-worn and in-car camera footage, incident reports and other records from the agencies involved, in order to investigate possible civil claims and preserve evidence. That is not the same as a damages lawsuit. The attorneys state their investigation is ongoing, and no completed complaint has been verified. Do not treat it as a filed lawsuit until a court filing is published.

Is There a Settlement or Claim Form?

No. There is no settlement fund, claim form, administrator or compensation deadline. Other Missouri residents cannot file claims based on this case. Any future recovery would depend on a lawsuit filed by McConnell’s family and its outcome.

What Could Happen Next?

• The family could file a civil-rights or wrongful-death lawsuit. None has been verified.
• The family could keep seeking records through the July petition.
• The video does not change the prosecutor’s charging decision, and nothing in the reporting shows that it reopens it.

Video can be interpreted in different ways, and a court would weigh the full record, including testimony, forensic evidence and other footage, before deciding any civil claim.

Key Dates

Date	Event
May 1, 2026	McConnell is fatally shot
July 17, 2026	Family files a petition seeking video and records
September 14, 2026	Prosecutor decides not to file criminal charges
October 5, 2026	Family’s attorneys release two body-camera excerpts
Not applicable	No settlement or claim deadline exists

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened to Saveion McConnell?

He was fatally shot by a Lafayette County deputy on May 1, 2026, in Johnson County, Missouri, during a search connected to an earlier shooting.

Who shot him?

The attorneys identify the deputy as Kenneth Lewie of the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office.

Was McConnell armed?

No weapon was found on him. The attorneys call that undisputed.

How many shots were fired?

Nine, with eight wounds found at autopsy, according to the family’s attorneys. The attorneys say five shots came after he had fallen. That is their account of the video.

Why wasn’t the deputy charged?

The prosecutor concluded the evidence did not support criminal charges under Missouri’s criminal standard for justified use of deadly force.

Has a court ruled the shooting justified?

No. The prosecutor’s decision is not a civil court ruling.

Has the family filed a wrongful-death lawsuit?

Not that has been verified. The family filed a July 17 petition seeking evidence, and the attorneys say their investigation continues.

Is there a settlement or claim form?

No.

Where can the video be viewed?

The attorneys published two clips with their October 5 press release. Viewer discretion is advised.

Related Reading

• Cortez Bufford $1.687M St. Louis Police Wrongful Death Settlement Approved: a separate, completed Missouri police-shooting civil case.

Legal information disclaimer: AllAboutLawyer.com is a U.S. consumer legal information website. It is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. Much of the information here comes from the family’s attorneys, who are advocates for the family, and from the prosecutor’s decision as described by them. Competing accounts remain unresolved, and nothing here is a court finding.

Sources

1. Ben Crump Law and Romanucci & Blandin, LLC, “Ben Crump and Romanucci & Blandin release body-camera video of fatal police shooting of unarmed teenager Saveion McConnell,” October 5, 2026 (statement by the family’s attorneys). https://bencrump.com/press/ben-crump-and-romanucci-blandin-release-body-camera-video-of-fatal-police-shooting-of-unarmed-teenager-saveion-mcconnell/
2. Romanucci & Blandin, LLC, “Petition filed for evidence regarding fatal police shooting of teenager Saveion McConnell near Kansas City” (family’s attorneys). https://www.rblaw.net/pressrelease-petition-filed-video-evidence-fatal-police-shooting-teenager-saveion-mcconnell-kansas-city
3. Johnson County Prosecuting Attorney Robert W. Russell, September 2026 charging decision, as described in the attorneys’ release (the memo itself was not retrieved).