October 11, 2019

Action Alert:
Fire and charge ‘trigger happy’ Missouri sheriff’s deputy asap


11 October 2019, Kansas City, MO – A sheriff’s deputy’s account of why she shot an unarmed woman has been called into question– and it is virtually the same story she used when she fatally shot an unarmed man in 2017.

washington post imageDeputy Lauren Michael was decorated for shooting an unarmed suspect,  Donald Sneed, at a Walmart in 2017.  She said then that despite her tasering the man she had been struggling with, he took her taser, shooting her in the face.  She said that was why she shot him multiple times, killing him.

Now Michael sits on a suspension without after shooting an unarmed woman who allegedly refused an earlier stop: for a scooter offense.

In this case the shooting victim’s story has been corroborated.  Deputy Michael said the woman, Ms Simek, a retired U.S. Coast Guard service member, grabbed her taser and shot her, despite the suspect being hit with a taser.  The taser however shows that it was fired twice only three seconds apart:  this is hardly consistent with the suspect being tasered (which should never have happened in the first place) and immediately being able to grab it and fire it.

Ms Simek said she was shot in the back while running away – the forensic and medical evidence backs this up.

Michael got out of her car with her Taser already drawn and told her to get on the ground. “For what?” Simek asked. Simek said Michael still did not tell her.

Michael’s dash-cam footage captured glimpses of events, even as Michael and Simek remained mostly off camera.  Michael, at 11:15 p.m., grabbing Simek by the hair and throwing her to the ground. Simek’s legs can be seen a minute later, twitching uncontrollably, then standing upright and running.

The District Attorney’s office is going to reopen the 2017 shooting death of Sneed in light of this new shooting’s details.

According to the Washington Post, Sneed’s family, which already filed a wrongful-death suit against Michael, is calling for charges to be filed in his death and for Michael to permanently lose her badge. “Now we’ve got another lady shot, and that cop doesn’t even belong on the force,” his father, Donald Sneed Jr., told the Kansas City Star. “She’s trigger-happy and she’s gonna kill more.”

ACTION:

Please contact  Jackson County Sheriff’s Department through one of the channels below and give them the following message, personalized to your liking:

 

I am deeply shocked sheriff’s deputy Lauren Michael assaulted and shot an unarmed woman in the back multiple times  – over a scooter offence.  It is an utter disgrace that you are keeping Michael on the force. Her shooting of Ms Simek, and in 2017 of Donald Sneed make her unfit to be a sheriff – not least as she seems to be relying on the same discredited story in both cases. 
Dismiss her now, and charge her with perjury – it looks like there’s evidence in the Simek shooting case for that alone- and you’ll likely find more in the Sneed case that you’re re-opening.  You must get her off the streets, stop paying her, and for all our sakes, don’t let her have any kind of weapon – ever. 
I will be following this case and the investigation into the Sneed shooting death, and I expect to see Michael or any officer committing perjury to be charged to the full extent the law allows.   And please:  improve your training.
Or a suggested tweet:
With all due respect- who’s doing the training over there that you’ve got Deputy Lauren Michael assaulting and multiply shooting someone in the back: allegedly for a scooter offence? Look into it and fire her before more damage is done-she has killed before.

 

 

Once you have made contact, fill out the three fields below and click the orange banner to report taking action!

 

 

Phone:  8504829624

Email:  jcsorecords@flcjn.net

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/jacksoncountymosheriff/

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/JCSheriffOffice

 


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