DENVER — A federal appeals court in Denver has dropped five law officers from a $7 million lawsuit by the family of an 18-year-old Ottawa man who was shot and killed by Ottawa police officers and Franklin County deputies three years ago in the Orscheln’s parking lot in Ottawa. However, the 10th Circuit of Appeals upheld the suit by the family of Joseph Jennings against the city of Ottawa, Franklin County, and five other law officers. At the request of the family, the lawsuit was dismissed against Derek Butters, Hunter Dryden, Bryce Hart, Doug Waterman and Dwayne Woods. Those officers didn’t fire at Jennings during his 17-minute confrontation with officers Aug. 23, 2014. Jennings, who was unarmed, was experiencing a mental health crisis and court documents called the deadly incident a “suicide by cop.” According to court documents, Jennings called the 911 dispatch center and reported a man was waving a gun around in the parking lot. Jennings gave the dispatcher a description of himself. Several officers surrounded him during the confrontation and officers ordered him to show his hands, which he didn’t do. Officers opened fire when Jennings pulled a pair of sunglasses out of his waistband of his pants and pointed them at some officers, the filing said. The family says officers over-reacted and that the city and county had failed to properly train officers to deal with mental health crises. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation looked at the incident. After examining the KBI report, county attorney Stephen Hunting declined to press criminal charges.
Tuesday, Dec. 19, 4 p.m.
