A former Kansas City, Kansas, police officer, who shot two people while on duty during his four-and-a-half years in the department, has been sued for killing a man in February 2023.
John Anderton, 50, was shot to death by Collin Ward after Anderton left a house where two people overdosed. After a brief conversation, Ward shot Anderton in the back as he ran away.
“The excessive and deadly force used against John Anderton was not only unnecessary but also reflects deeper failures within the system,” said attorney Tom Porto, who is representing Anderton’s brother in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Anderton’s brother, also names the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, and KCKPD Chief Karl Oakman.
The killing of John Anderton
Anderton was in his sister’s house in the early evening when two people in the house overdosed, according to an investigation into Anderton’s death by the Kansas City Police Department. Police and paramedics were called but Anderton left on his bicycle as police arrived.
“Before paramedics arrived, Anderton tried helping his friends by, among things, performing CPR,” according to the federal lawsuit filed in Kansas City, Kansas.
Anderton left the house before police arrived because he “feared staying would exacerbate his chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD),” the lawsuit said.
As Ward arrived at the overdose scene, he was told Anderton left on a bike. Ward drove a couple of blocks where he found Anderton walking his bike, according to the KCPD investigation.
Body cam video shows Ward pull up and start to question Anderton about why he left the house when people were in need.
“There wasn’t anything I could do,” Anderton answered. The exchange was calm.
But when Ward told Anderton to put his hands on his head as he prepared to arrest him for a misdemeanor trespassing warrant, Anderton dropped the bike and ran towards nearby woods.
“I could see that he was physically trying to remove an object from his pocket. I remember seeing him turn, I saw his hand kind of in a fist shape and I just saw silver,” Ward told KCPD detectives.
As Ward was chasing him, he yelled for Anderton to stop reaching.
“Then, without warning, he fired approximately twelve bullets at Anderton’s back, even though Anderton was running away from the officer,” the lawsuit alleges.
Anderton was hit five times, including in the back and back of the head.
A gun was found at Anderton’s feet. His brother told KCPD detectives John found the gun and it didn’t work.
Ward was not charged in the killing. In a statement, Wyandotte County District Attorney Mark Dupree found that Ward “acted within the bounds of the law.”
The lawsuit charges Ward’s actions were “maliciously, wantonly or oppressively committed.” The six-count lawsuit also charges the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City and KCK Police Chief Karl Oakman with failure to train and properly supervise Ward.
Ward shot another man three years earlier
Nearly a year-and-a-half after joining the KCKPD, Ward shot his first man.
In May 2020, Ward and another officer discovered a stolen pickup truck and saw a Black man get in.
Both officers ran toward the truck, where Ward’s partner tasered the man.
The truck lurched forward. Ward and his partner backed away, “while drawing their firearms and firing indiscriminately,” a federal lawsuit said. “Ward emptied the clip of his firearm and reloaded.”
The man nearly died. It turns out he was hired to clean the truck, according to a lawsuit which was dismissed at the request of the man’s lawyers.
Ward is currently working in Missouri
On August 30, 2023, Wyandotte County District Attorney Mark Dupree decided not to charge Ward.
Two weeks later – on Friday Sept. 16 – Ward resigned from the KCKPD, according to state records. The following Monday he was working for the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, county records revealed.
Sarah Boyd, a spokesperson for the Clay County sheriff’s department, said they were aware of Anderton’s killing and the previous lawsuit about the shooting of the man in the stolen car.
“The lawsuit you are referring to was dismissed, and the Wyandotte County Prosecutor’s Office determined Deputy Ward acted lawfully in the death of John Anderton. The dispositions of those cases were taken into consideration during the hiring process and did not disqualify him for employment here,” Boyd said.
Ward was involved in helping save the life of a choking baby at Worlds of Fun in September, according to KMBC.
