Kansas deputy charged in jail death after 86‑second knee
Wyandotte County deputy Richard Fatherly was charged in September 2025 with second‑degree murder and an alternative count of involuntary manslaughter after court records and a newly released affidavit say he shoved his knee into the back of handcuffed inmate Charles Adair for 86 seconds on July 5, 2025, after Adair was returned to his cell at the Kansas City, Kan., detention center. The autopsy lists Adair’s death as a homicide caused by complications from 'mechanical asphyxia'; attorneys for Adair’s family and civil‑rights lawyers have viewed video investigators reviewed and are demanding its public release as the criminal case proceeds.
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📌 Key Facts
- Deputy Richard Fatherly was charged with second‑degree murder and alternative count of involuntary manslaughter (charges filed in Sept. 2025).
- Affidavit and video show Fatherly placed his left knee on handcuffed inmate Charles Adair’s lower back for 86 seconds after Adair was put on his stomach in his cell.
- Autopsy classified the death as a homicide; cause listed as complications from 'mechanical asphyxia'; records and affidavit were released Oct. 2025.