INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — As Bryce Masters, 17, of Independence remains in the hospital in critical condition, the FBI will begin reviewing the police tasing incident which took place moments before paramedics rushed the boy to the hospital.
RELATED: Family says teen tased by officer remains in critical condition
Investigators say Sunday afternoon Officer Tim Runnels says the teenager put up a struggle after the officer pulled him over during a traffic stop.
Officer Runnels, who has been on the police force for two years, says Masters resisted arrest and put up a fight. The officer says he warned the teenager several times to get out of his car, but when the boy refused, Runnels says he used a stun gun on him.
Several witnesses say the officer went too far and pulled the boy out of his car. The witnesses also say Bryce hit his head on some concrete. Police are saying the boy exited the vehicle on his own.
“We are looking into what happened because we don’t know,” said Commander Paul Thurman.
Masters is the son of a Kansas City police officer. The boy’s family is also asking the United States Department of Justice to look into the incident.
On Monday, the Masters Family issued the following statement:
“The family of Bryce Masters would like to thank everyone for their outpouring of concern and support.
Because of significant inconsistencies between public statements made by the Independence Police Department and information made available to the family in the form of statements of eyewitnesses and video and audio footage of the occurrence, the family has asked the United States Department of Justice to conduct its own investigation into these tragic events.
Because Bryce is still in critical condition, the Masters family asks that their privacy be respected in allowing them to focus on Bryce’s recovery.”
Watch cell phone video of the incident taken by a witness in this earlier report:
