Kansas City police release bodycam of John Anderton fatal shooting after lawsuit

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Police body camera footage released this week shows a Kansas City, Kansas, officer firing nearly a dozen gunshots, fatally wounding 50-year-old John Anderton, who ditched his bicycle and ran as he was being questioned.

Anderton had called 911 for help after one of his friends overdosed in February 2023.

Family members won the release of the footage after a months-long court battle for access to police records.

Police have said Anderton had a gun, and one was recovered from the scene, though the family has questioned that fact in the absence of clear-cut proof on the video snippets Kansas City, Kansas, police provided as required by law.

The footage shows a lone officer pull up to the 5400 block of Haskell Avenue shortly before 6 p.m. on Feb. 3, 2023. Anderton is standing near the street curb and holding a bicycle.

A brief time earlier, Anderton called 911 and left a nearby house as two people inside were suffering from a drug overdose. Police officers chased him when he left.

“What’s going on, brother? Why are you leaving that house?” the officer says as he approaches Anderton, who responds that he had helped his friends and left because “I can’t do no more.”

After the officer says to drop the bike and put his hands on his head, Anderton drops his bike and runs a short distance towards a grassy stretch along the roadside. He hunches down toward his right, as the officer yells twice for him to “stop reaching.”

The officer, whose name was not released, fires about 12 bullets at Anderton. He continues to shoot as Anderton turns his back toward the officer and falls to the ground.

In the video, Anderton can be heard moaning as the officer takes cover behind a parked car on the street, his gun still drawn and pointed.

The officer calls for backup, yells several times more for Anderton to put his hands out because “I need to help you,” and then calls for paramedics. He says over the radio he believes Anderton is still armed with a gun.

No gun is visible in the video shared with The Star. Later, as other officers arrive with a ballistic shield and approach Anderton, one mentions seeing a gun on the ground.

In August 2023, roughly six months after Anderton was killed, the Wyandotte County District Attorney’s Office determined the shooting was justified under Kansas law, clearing the officer who shot Anderton from criminal liability.