The family of Charles Adair said they were devastated after viewing body camera video Wednesday showing the final moments before the 50-year-old Kansas City, Kansas, man died inside the Wyandotte County Detention Center last summer.
“We basically watched our loved one die,” said Erica Adair.. “They knelt on his back until he was breathless.”
The viewing marked a major moment in a case that has already led to both criminal charges against a former detention deputy and a federal wrongful death lawsuit filed by Adair’s family.
Adair died July 5, 2025, after being taken into custody on misdemeanor traffic violations. According to court filings and statements from attorneys, Adair had been receiving treatment for an infected open wound in the jail infirmary before he was wheeled back to his cell in a wheelchair.
Investigators say a confrontation began once he returned to the cell.
According to court records cited during Wednesday’s news conference, Adair was lifted from the wheelchair, placed face down on the bottom bunk of his cell and restrained while handcuffed. Deputy Richard Fatherly allegedly kneeled on Adair’s back for roughly 90 seconds to two minutes while Adair was on his stomach and handcuffed.
The Johnson County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Adair’s death a homicide caused by complications of mechanical asphyxia.
Fatherly has since been charged with second-degree murder and an alternative count of involuntary manslaughter in Wyandotte County District Court.
Earlier this month, Adair’s family also filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit against Fatherly, Wyandotte County Sheriff Daniel Soptic and the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas.
The family is represented by national civil rights attorneys Ben Crump and Harry Daniels along with Kansas City-area law firm Davis, Bethune & Jones.
Speaking outside the Wyandotte County Courthouse after the family viewed the footage for the first time, attorneys and relatives said the video confirmed what they feared happened inside the jail.
“A traffic violation shouldn’t be a death sentence,” Adair family Atty. Ted Ruzicka said during the news conference.
The family’s attorneys are also calling for the video to eventually be released publicly, though they acknowledged that may not happen before trial.
The criminal case against Fatherly is continuing in Wyandotte County, with another court hearing expected later this month. The federal civil lawsuit is also in its early stages.
