Ben Crump and Romanucci & Blandin release body-camera video of fatal police shooting of unarmed teenager Saveion McConnell

GRAPHIC CONTENT: VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED. Video shows Lafayette County deputy fired nine times at the unarmed 19-year-old, five of them after he had fallen to the ground

KANSAS CITY (October 5, 2026) – Nationally renowned civil rights and personal injury attorney Benjamin L. Crump, who has joined the legal team representing the family of Saveion McConnell, and national trial firm Romanucci & Blandin, LLC, today released excerpts of body-worn camera video of the May 1, 2026 fatal police shooting of Saveion McConnell, an unarmed 19-year-old Black resident of Lee’s Summit, Missouri. The video, recorded by Odessa Police Department Officer Nathan Holmberg, shows Lafayette County Sheriff’s Deputy Kenneth Lewie firing nine shots at Saveion, including five after Saveion had fallen to the ground and was incapacitated. Moments earlier, Deputy Lewie had struck Saveion with his patrol car. The release follows Johnson County Prosecuting Attorney Robert W. Russell’s September 14 decision not to bring criminal charges against Deputy Lewie. Saveion’s family is profoundly disappointed by that decision. The legal team believes the evidence gathered to date shows that Deputy Lewie’s use of deadly force was unjustified.

Saveion, a 2025 graduate of Lee’s Summit North High School, was killed in the early morning hours along U.S. Highway 50 in Johnson County. Officers had been searching for Saveion after a handgun discharged inside a car carrying him and a group of friends, wounding the driver. The Prosecuting Attorney’s memo never finds that Saveion fired the gun. According to the memo, the driver identified Saveion because he was seated behind her, and another passenger told officers that the gun went off while Saveion and a second passenger were passing it between them, suggesting that the gun discharged accidentally. The memo concludes there is insufficient evidence to charge anyone in connection with that incident.

Officer Holmberg’s recording is the only known body-worn camera footage of the shooting. The legal team is releasing two excerpts:

• Police Shooting of Saveion McConnell - Bodyworn Camera Clip 1
• Police Shooting of Saveion McConnell - Bodyworn Camera Clip 2

Viewer discretion is advised; the second excerpt depicts the shooting. In the first excerpt, recorded while officers were searching for Saveion, Officer Holmberg can be heard telling another law enforcement officer over the phone: “Trying to find a Black kid at night, that’s always fun.”

The second excerpt runs continuously from the officers’ first encounter with Saveion through the shooting. Officer Holmberg, with his gun drawn, and Johnson County Sheriff’s Deputy Joseph Hardwick stopped Saveion and another young man walking along the highway. Saveion initially followed the officers’ commands, including “Let me see your hands,” but as Officer Holmberg moved to handcuff him, Saveion ran away. Shortly after Saveion began running, Deputy Lewie’s patrol car can be seen speeding past in the same direction Saveion was running.

The excerpt then captures the shooting. By that point, Saveion was no longer fleeing. He had clearly stopped near the side of the highway and appeared to be trying to comply as Deputy Lewie, standing just feet away with his gun pointed at him, ordered him to get down on the ground. The video does not capture Deputy Lewie ever ordering Saveion to put his hands up or any other commands to that effect. Officer Holmberg stood significantly farther back holding his Taser, and seconds before Deputy Lewie fired, Officer Holmberg can be heard shouting, “Taser! Taser! Taser!” Saveion’s hands then moved toward his waist, in what appears to be an attempt to pull up his pants, and Deputy Lewie opened fire. He fired at Saveion nine times, including five shots after Saveion had fallen to the ground and was incapacitated. An autopsy performed on Saveion found that he was shot 8 times.

“Once again, an unarmed young Black man has been killed by police in this country,” said civil rights attorney Benjamin L. Crump. “Before officers ever found Saveion, one of them said, ‘Trying to find a Black kid at night, that’s always fun.’ That comment is reprehensible. No parent should ever have to hear a police officer talk about the search for their child as if it were sport. Saveion was 19 years old, with his whole life ahead of him. Black families in this country know this story far too well. We stand with Saveion’s mother and father and his entire family in their fight for justice.”

“Saveion was unarmed, he had stopped running, and he was seized at gunpoint,” said Senior Attorney Joshua M. Levin of Romanucci & Blandin. “Moving his hands toward his waist violated no command, and it appears consistent with a young man who had just been knocked down by a police car trying to pull up his pants so he could get on the ground as ordered. If Deputy Lewie truly believed Saveion was reaching for a gun, at a minimum he should have ordered him to show his hands and given him a chance to comply. Instead, he opened fire from just a few feet away, ignoring the time, distance, and cover that officers are trained to use before resorting to deadly force. The other officer, watching the same movement from farther back, had switched from his gun to his Taser, which suggests he saw no need for deadly force. And whatever Deputy Lewie believed at first, nothing could justify firing five shots at Saveion after he was lying incapacitated on the ground. In our view, this was an unreasonable and excessive use of deadly force.”

Deputy Lewie’s use of force did not begin with his gun; it began when he hit Saveion with his patrol car. According to the Prosecuting Attorney’s memo, Deputy Lewie told investigators he struck Saveion unintentionally while trying to use his moving vehicle to block Saveion from running toward another car. That self-serving claim is difficult to credit. Speeding toward a person on foot to cut him off carries an obvious risk of hitting him. The legal team believes Deputy Lewie either intended to strike Saveion or consciously disregarded that risk. Either way, it was a dangerous and disproportionate use of force.

Saveion was unarmed—that is undisputed. Deputy Lewie told investigators that a witness had said Saveion “could be armed” with a Glock pistol, but the only handgun described in the memo was found by deputies inside the car where the pistol discharged, not on Saveion.

Saveion’s family strongly disagrees with the Prosecuting Attorney’s decision not to pursue criminal charges against Deputy Lewie. That decision rests entirely on Missouri criminal laws and standards of proof. It renders no judgment about Deputy Lewie’s conduct as it may be assessed in the civil justice system, which, as the Prosecuting Attorney recognizes, applies “a different burden of proof and legal standards for the use of force.” The legal team’s investigation is ongoing as it pursues accountability for Saveion’s death.

The legal team representing Saveion’s parents, Michelle Washington and Ronnell McConnell, includes Ben Crump and Romanucci & Blandin Senior Attorney Joshua M. Levin, Senior Attorney Benjamin A. Berkman and Attorney Colton M. Johnson Taylor and co-counsel from Dunk Law Firm.

Anyone with information about this incident is encouraged to contact Romanucci & Blandin for a confidential conversation at 312-458-1000 or intakes@rblaw.net.

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About Ben Crump Law

Through his work, nationally renowned civil rights and personal injury attorney Ben Crump has spearheaded a legal movement to better protect the rights of marginalized citizens. He has led landscape-changing civil rights cases and represented clients in a wide range of areas including civil rights, personal injury, labor and employment, class actions, and more. Ben Crump Law is dedicated to holding the powerful accountable. For more information, visit bencrump.com.

About Romanucci & Blandin, LLC

Romanucci & Blandin is a Chicago-based national trial practice committed to fighting for victims of negligence, abuse and wrongful death. For nearly 30 years, we have secured more than $1 billion in verdicts and settlements for our clients - many for millions of dollars and others record-setting awards. Our experience ranges from mass shootings, civil rights and police misconduct to medical malpractice, sexual abuse, motor vehicle accidents or workplace injury cases involving individual or institutional negligence. Romanucci & Blandin is a valuable legal resource to individuals and groups of people who have been injured by others’ wrongdoing. Referring attorneys and clients say several factors differentiate our firm: Our record of success, depth of experience, talented and dedicated legal team, tireless preparation and strategic use of communications to fight for the rights of those whose lives have been changed forever. We are different from other personal injury firms in that our work does not stop when a verdict or settlement is secured. We are often inspired by our clients’ experiences and commit resources to create change in our communities. For more information about Romanucci & Blandin, please visit www.rblaw.net or call (312) 458-1000.

About Dunk Law Firm

Dunk Law Firm represents plaintiffs in personal injury and wrongful death matters. The firm takes cases nationwide to hold negligent individuals, businesses, and institutions accountable for the harm they cause. Dunk Law Firm is headquartered in Houston, Texas, with offices in Memphis, St. Louis, and Milwaukee. For more information, call (713) 223-1435 or visit www.slamdunklawyer.com.