A Wyandotte County deputy charged with murder and involuntary manslaughter in connection with a man’s death knelt on the man’s back for more than a minute in his jail cell before he died, court records show.
A sworn affidavit from the Kansas Bureau of Investigation details how deputy Richard Fatherley restrained 50-year-old Charles Adair in his cell for 1 minute and 26 seconds. Fatherley continued to kneel on Adair’s back and put pressure on his shoulder even after other deputies believed Adair had stopped resisting, according to the affidavit.
The KBI investigated Adair’s death after medical staff found him unresponsive in his cell following an altercation with deputies. A medical examiner ruled Adair’s death a homicide in September, stating that he had died from “mechanical asphyxia,” or when an object or force prevents someone from breathing…