Family of Marine veteran killed by Wichita officer seeks $5 million

The family of a Marine veteran shot and killed by a Wichita police officer is seeking $5 million from the city.

The city disclosed that the estate and heirs of 26-year-old Icarus Randolph had filed a claim for that amount on June 2. A claim is required step before a lawsuit can be filed.

The limited information the city provided about the claim came in response to a request by The Wichita Eagle, filed under the Kansas Open Records Act, for any recent claims filed over shootings by police.

The city said it wouldn’t release a copy of the claim document, which spells out the family’s position. An email from the city said that the denial was covered by exceptions under the open records law, including “Criminal History Record information,” “correspondence between a public agency and a private individual,” “memoranda expressing opinions or proposing action” and “invasion of personal privacy.”

On Monday, Lee Barnett, the Wakarusa lawyer bringing the claim on behalf of Randolph’s family, said the family would have no comment at this time but has no objection to the city releasing a copy of the claim to The Eagle.

“I think it’s a public document,” Barnett said.

Last fall, Randolph’s family said that while their purpose that day was to get help for him, the two police officers sent to the home allowed the situation to escalate. The family has said that Randolph had served in Iraq and suffered from PTSD.

On Friday, District Attorney Marc Bennett announced that no charges will be filed against police officers in Randolph’s death.

Authorities have said that Randolph was killed on July 4 when he came toward officers with a knife and after a Taser failed to stop him. He was shot in front of relatives outside a family home in the 7800 block of East Clay.

“The conclusion in this case is that the police officer was placed in a situation where he objectively and reasonably felt he needed to defend himself against the advance of someone who was not responding to calls … either from the officer or from family,” Bennett said. “He did not respond to non-lethal force when the Taser was used, and as a result of this, I find that there is no basis for criminal charges to be filed in this matter.”

According to Bennett’s report, Randolph’s family first called the VA and other local mental health associations to request help and that the agencies advised them to call 911.

Some family members had seen Randolph holding a folding knife with a 4 1/2-inch blade but worried that if they told dispatchers he had a knife, “things might go badly, so that information was not provided,” Bennett said.

This story was originally published June 15, 2015 at 2:49 PM with the headline "Family of Marine veteran killed by Wichita officer seeks $$5 million."