News

Wrongful death case filed in police shooting of Kansas City woman

Posted on Feb 05, 2010

The son of a mentally disabled woman shot in her home by police officers has filed a wrongful death suit against the officers and the Board of Police Commissioners.

Linda Friday was fatally shot inside her Kansas City home on February 12, 2007. The suit alleges that on that day, two officers were dispatched to the home after Linda Friday called 911 and asked for an ambulance. She then hung up.

When the officers arrived, they were greeted by Mrs. Friday’s son, Jason Friday, who told the officers that she did not need an ambulance. The officers went into Linda Friday’s bedroom and she asked them to leave.

After an officer turned off her stereo, Mrs. Friday became agitated and pulled out a firearm. The officers drew their weapons and fired three times killing Mrs. Friday.

The wrongful death suit was filed in Jackson County Circuit Court on behalf of Jason Friday. The suit alleges that officers knew from previous experience that Linda Frady had mental problems, and that one of the officers had been present at an earlier incident. The suit claims that the officers were negligent in handling the situation appropriately and because of the negligence, it escalated into a shooting. It accuses the officers of assault, battery and trespass and states that the officers should have called in officers especially trained in dealing with the mentally ill.