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Should ex-Raytown officer lose license after shooting man who posed no threat?

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Dallas Burnette is no longer a member of the Raytown Police Department. The former law enforcement officer left the force last October, according to Raytown officials. If you’re wondering why this particular development is important, let me remind you that Burnette is the Raytown officer who fatally shot 32-year-old Kenneth Williams Jr., of Grandview, outside the QuikTrip at 8733 East 63rd St. on Nov. 9, 2024 after Williams allegedly made a threat about having weapons and explosives in his car.

Burnette shot Williams seven times, according to a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Williams’ mother Cecelia Wilson. Williams’ family has said he possessed nothing more than fireworks and cleaning equipment, The Star reported.

In a statement sent to me, Steveland Young of the Kansas City Law Enforcement Accountability Project, or KCLEAP, said the nonprofit organization stands in full support of Williams’ family. “Kenneth Williams Jr. deserved to live,” Young wrote. “His family deserves answers. And this community deserves accountability.”

When it comes to law enforcement, I am a vocal proponent for more accountability with these types of questionable use-of-force incidents and all of us should be. In our region, we’ve seen our fair share of police officers remain on the force after they have needlessly taken a life. Need I remind any of you about how long it took Kansas City police to usher repeat offender Blayne Newton out the door despite demands from civil rights leaders, police accountability advocates and former Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker for KCPD to fire the former cop? Before he signed a $50,000 separation agreement with KCPD earlier this year, Newton fatally shot at least three people and injured another with gunfire, among other violent acts.

In the Raytown case, Williams’ family contends that he was not an imminent threat when Burnette shot him. Prosecutors showed Williams’ family video footage of the incident the day they announced no charges would be filed. “This video looked like a public execution by one officer who acted as the jury, the judge and the executioner,”

LaTasha Crawford, Williams’ sister, previously told The Star. Claims Williams’ mother made in the lawsuit suggest lethal force wasn’t necessary. ‘Profound breach of the public trust’ According to Raytown city clerk Teresa Henry, Burnette’s last day was Oct. 2, 2025. A day later, Jackson County prosecutors announced that Burnette would not face criminal charges related to the shooting. In filing a wrongful death lawsuit, Wilson accused Burnette of violating the department’s use of force policy.

Although prosecutors declined to file charges against Burnette, the fatal encounter was unnecessary, according to John Picerno, an attorney representing Williams’ family in the lawsuit filed in late March in Jackson County Court. “We believe he unjustly took Kenneth’s life, which represents a profound breach of the public trust placed in law-enforcement officers,” Picerno wrote me in a text message. “His actions were reckless, unreasonable, and unjustified, and no person who engages in such conduct can safely or responsibly serve in any law enforcement capacity.”

Attempts to reach Burnette for comment were unsuccessful. When I called a number listed for him, a woman who answered the phone hung up when I identified myself. A follow-up text message was not returned. Messages sent to Steve Coronado, an attorney for Burnette listed in online court records, were not returned.

An inquiry seeking information about Burnette’s peace officer license sent to Mike O’Connell, a spokesman for the Missouri Public Safety Director’s Office, went unanswered Friday.

According to an online database that tracks revoked or surrendered police licenses in Missouri did not include Burnette’s name at the end of March. The database is updated quarterly. If claims made in the civil lawsuit prove to be true that Burnette violated the Raytown police use-of-force policy, it’s fair to question whether he should ever work as a lawman again. Any officer who shoots a man who posed no threat to the public — and evidence shows that Williams wasn’t a danger to anyone when he was shot, according to the family’s lawsuit — should either surrender or have their police license revoked.

According to the lawsuit, Burnette was the only one of four Raytown officers on the scene who discharged his weapon. In this case, it’s encouraging that Burnette is off the Raytown police force. But until he loses his license, there is always a chance he could land a job in another jurisdiction.

When asked if Burnette had been disciplined for his role in the shooting, given additional training or if he had been involved in any prior use of force incidents, Raytown Police Captain Dyon Harper referred me to Henry, the city clerk. In an email, Henry wrote that the information I requested was closed under Missouri’s open records act, the Sunshine Law. “The information that I was able to confirm, and release is that Dallas Burnette is no longer employed with the City of Raytown, Missouri,” Henry wrote. “He was a Corporal and his dates of services were November 8, 2020 through October 2, 2025.”

Only 1 of 4 police officers to discharge weapon Last fall, Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson’s office released a statement saying no charges would be brought against Burnette. In a statement released then, Johnson’s office said Williams had made threats about having explosives in his vehicle after a confrontation between Williams and a private security officer while inside the QuikTrip. Shortly before the shooting, Williams left the scene, returned, saw the police presence and began to run toward his vehicle, according to the statement. Prosecutors also contend that officers gave commands for Williams to stop approaching the vehicle, a detail family members doubt, according to the lawsuit. While law enforcement was waiting for a bomb squad, Williams returned to the scene, and as he began to enter his vehicle, Burnette shot him after police gave him commands,

The Star reported. Williams died at a local hospital. Without speaking directly to Burnette, I cannot in good faith conclude what was in his heart or mind the day he shot Williams. But as the allegations in the lawsuit contend, he was the only officer to fire his weapon at Burnette. “As (Williams) proceeded towards the driver’s door, several officers, including Officer Burnette ran toward (Williams) and his parked vehicle. Before (Williams) touched or opened the driver’s door, Defendant Burnette shot (Williams) from behind multiple times,” the lawsuit alleges. “According to the medical examiner’s report, Burnette struck Williams up to seven times, in the right mid back, right mid chest, right and left buttock, right upper arm, left elbow, and right forearm, causing his death. There is no evidence that (Williams) possessed a weapon, made threats, or posed an imminent danger to Defendant Burnette or any other officer at the time he was shot.”

As Williams’ family continues to pursue justice in this case, none of us should ignore the sobering fact that other officers on the scene did not fire their weapons but Burnette did. For exhibiting such carelessness, it’s fair to question if Burnette should lose his police license.