KCPD’s Blayne Newton: Shootings, Resignation, and Cost to Kansas City

Blayne Newton is a former Kansas City, Missouri Police Department officer who killed three people and wounded at least two others during a nine-year career, was never criminally charged for any of the shootings, and resigned in February 2026 under a separation agreement that paid him $50,000. His conduct as a KCPD officer cost the city at least $3.94 million in known settlements, with a $10 million civil lawsuit still pending as of early 2026.¹

The Shootings and Force Incidents

Donnie Sanders, March 2020

Newton pulled 47-year-old Donnie Sanders over near Prospect Avenue for speeding on March 12, 2020. Sanders ran. Newton chased him about half a block, then fired five shots from roughly 12 to 15 feet away, striking Sanders three times. Newton said Sanders had turned toward him and raised his right hand as if holding a gun. Sanders was unarmed. Investigators recovered only a cellphone from his pocket.²³

Sanders’s children filed a federal civil rights lawsuit alleging excessive force under the Fourth Amendment. A federal district court denied Newton qualified immunity, pointing to a conflict between his account and autopsy findings: the entry wound on Sanders’s right elbow was on the inner back side, with the bullet traveling left to right, which the court found inconsistent with Newton’s claim that Sanders was pointing something at him.⁴

Deja Stallings, September 2020

On September 30, 2020, Newton took part in the arrest of Deja Stallings, a 25-year-old woman who was nine months pregnant. During the arrest, Newton kneeled on her back while she was face-down on the ground. Stallings required hospital care three times afterward and delivered her daughter by emergency cesarean section two weeks early. The infant was placed in a neonatal intensive care unit with an elevated heart rate.⁵⁶

Marcel Nelson, Kristen Fairchild, and Jaden Thorns, June 2023

On June 9, 2023, near East 31st Street and Van Brunt Boulevard, Newton saw someone in a pickup truck point a gun at a white van and drive off. Inside the van were Marcel Nelson, 42; Kristen Fairchild, 42; Nelson’s nephew Jaden Thorns; and two juveniles. According to the civil lawsuit filed later, Nelson fired two shots in self-defense at the truck as it fled. There was no evidence he ever pointed a weapon toward Newton.⁷

Newton, who had followed the truck, pulled alongside the passenger side of the van and fired 16 shots. Dashcam footage showed him shooting while still moving next to the vehicle. Nelson and Fairchild were killed. Thorns, in the back seat, was shot in the head and survived. Reporting indicated Newton was not authorized to be on duty in that area at the time.⁸⁹

Earlier and Other Allegations

A 2019 lawsuit accused Newton and two other officers of repeatedly punching and using a stun gun on a teenager; KCPD settled it for $325,000.¹⁰ In September 2022, working off-duty but in uniform at a Kansas City Walmart, Newton arrested Bermeeka Mitchell, a woman in her 50s. Mitchell said he grabbed and twisted her arms and ground his boot heel into her foot, injuring her wrists, arm, and shoulder. The Office of Community Complaints sustained her excessive-force allegations, and KCPD later settled the lawsuit for $65,000.¹¹

Why Newton Was Never Charged

Two Jackson County prosecutors reviewed Newton’s shootings, and neither filed charges. In March 2021, Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker announced that the facts did not support criminal charges in the Sanders killing.¹² On January 21, 2026, Prosecutor Melesa Johnson said charges in the 2023 shooting could not be “ethically or legally filed,” citing Missouri law on the use of deadly force in defense of others and the doctrine of transferred intent, which prevents criminal liability when unintended people are harmed during what the law defines as lawful defense of others.¹³

Johnson said her decision “should not be construed as an endorsement of the officer’s conduct.” She wrote to Police Chief Stacey Graves documenting “serious and ongoing concerns about (Newton’s) pattern of behavior” and warned that his record was discoverable under the Brady rule, meaning it would have to be turned over to defense attorneys and could “undermine the integrity and viability of prosecutions” in any case Newton was involved in. Her office refused to take cases involving Newton, and he was reassigned from Jackson County to the North Patrol division in Clay County.¹

On December 27, 2024, Baker’s office released a 55-page report from its Community Advisory Board concluding that Newton was “a threat to public safety” and recommending KCPD “reconsider the employment status” of the officer. The board questioned the necessity of the foot pursuit in the Sanders shooting and noted Newton’s record of killing three people and wounding a fourth.¹⁴

Why He Kept His Job for So Long

Newton remained employed for years after sustained excessive-force findings, two prosecutors’ warnings, an advisory board recommendation, and repeated community demands for his firing at Board of Police Commissioners meetings. Chief Stacey Graves, who held authority to recommend termination to the board, made no public statement about his employment.¹⁵ At an October 28, 2025 board meeting, five community members spoke against Newton’s continued employment during public comments.¹⁶

KCPD’s governance is the backdrop. It is the only major urban police department in the United States that does not operate under local control. The Board of Police Commissioners is appointed by the governor, and the Kansas City Council has no direct authority over department practices or personnel. The city pays settlements but does not control hiring, firing, or discipline.

The February 2026 Resignation Agreement

Newton agreed to relinquish his police authority effective February 4, 2026, and the separation agreement was finalized on February 13. The Board of Police Commissioners authorized a $50,000 payment to him as part of the deal.¹⁷

Under the agreement, Newton cannot seek any employment with the Board of Police Commissioners, cannot apply for private security licenses issued by the board, and cannot sue KCPD or appeal the resignation. Both Newton and the department accepted a non-disparagement clause. The department said the agreement “brings certainty and immediate closure to the matter.”¹⁸¹⁹

What Newton’s Career Cost Kansas City

Known payouts tied to Newton’s conduct include:

Those figures total at least $3.94 million. A separate $10 million civil suit brought by Donnie Sanders’s family against the department remained pending as of early 2026.¹

1
KCUR. KCPD Officer Barred Jackson County Violent History
2
KCUR. Kansas City Police Officer Blayne Newton Resignation
3
Justia. Nunley v. Newton, No. 23-3329
4
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Sanders v. Newton, No. 23-3329
5
CBS News. Deja Stallings Protests Continue After Arrest of Pregnant Black Woman
6
Revolt. Pregnant Black Woman Delivers Baby Early After Cop Kneels on Her Back
7
Fox 4 KC. KCPD Officer Involved in 2023 Deadly Shooting Will Not Face Criminal Charges
8
KSHB. Judge Approves $3.5 Million Settlement in Deadly 2023 KCPD Shooting
9
Reason. Brickbat: Paid To Go Away
10
Fox 4 KC. KCPD Officer Faces More Excessive Force Allegations in New Lawsuit
11
Kansas City Star. KCPD Settles Lawsuit With Woman Injured by Officer
12
KMBC. Kansas City Police Officer Newton Resigns Settlement
13
KCUR. Kansas City Officer With History of Fatal Shootings Escapes Criminal Charges in Latest Case
14
KCUR. Kansas City Police Officer Who Killed 3 People Should Be Fired, Prosecutor Says
15
Kansas City Star. KCPD Officer Blayne Newton Employment
16
Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners. October 28, 2025 Meeting Minutes
17
KSHB. Kansas City Missouri Police Officer Part of Several Use of Force Investigations Resigns From Department
18
Kansas City Star. Kansas City Police Officer Newton Settlement Details
19
KCTV5. Officer Involved in Fatal Police Shooting Takes Settlement, Resigns From KCPD
20
KMBC. Kansas City KCPD Police Lawsuit Settlements Budget