Murder/Homicide & Criminal Defense
Attorney in Kansas City, Missouri

Three factors played out in his mind that could’ve changed the entire night, Picerno said. Picerno said he doesn’t believe that Newton was ever in danger or that Nelson even knew he was there. The second factor Picerno mentioned was that Nelson was acting in self-defense and the third being Newton never activated his lights or sirens

John Picerno, an attorney who represented the victims, said he and his clients met with prosecutors Wednesday afternoon and was told about their decision not to file criminal charges. “My clients are obviously very disappointed that he’s not going to be charged,” Picerno said. “They simply cannot believe that he’s still employed by KCPD based upon the amounts of incidents that he’s been involved in.” In September, the Police Department agreed to pay $3.5 million to settle a civil lawsuit in the shooting deaths before the case went to trial.

Many of those shooters were repeat offenders such as Blayne Newton, a notorious bad actor who has at least three on-duty deaths on his resume. In addition, he has faced credible accusations of using excessive force on women. Newton’s untoward acts have cost taxpayers millions of dollars in settlements.