Report gives new details about ex-undersheriff who killed KS man with faulty bean bag round

A former Kansas undersheriff who killed a man when he fired a faulty bean bag round from his personally owned shotgun has had his Kansas law certification revoked, according to an investigative report released in June.

The report provides new details into a widely reported Oct. 6, 2017, fatal shooting and into Virgil Brewer’s career and reflection of what he would have done differently — he said he wouldn’t have changed pulling the trigger and aiming where he did.

Other new information includes that Brewer used excessive physical force on “multiple occasions,” including in 2017 when he pointed a shotgun “at an unruly inmate” at the Barber County Jail and “threatened to shoot him,” according to the Kansas Commission of Peace Officers’ Standards and Training (KSCPOST) report, which says “this caused fear and concern amongst the inmates.”

Brewer, who worked for the Barber County Sheriff’s Office from January 2017 to January 2021, could not be reached for comment about the report.

KSCPOST, which oversees officer certifications, often won’t do its investigation until after a criminal investigation. In November, a jury found Brewer not guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Steven Myers. And in 2020, Barber County agreed to a $3.5 million settlement after the Myers’ family brought a lawsuit against Brewer and then-Barber County Sheriff Lonnie Small.

Here is what what happened in the fatal shooting, according to the report and other sources:

Brewer and two other officers responded to a call about a suspect leaving a bar with a “long gun.” One of the deputies was identified in the report as Suchy. Sheriff Small was the other officer, the Associated Press reported.

Police were called after an altercation at Sun City bar, the AP reported, adding that Myers was drunk, told to leave and left before officers arrived.

Just before officers found Myers, body cam caught Small saying: “A little luck and he’ll just pass out and die,” the AP reported.

Myers, the report says, was found near a shed. AP said he was in a shed.

Officers gave conflicting commands to the victim. Myers was not told he was under arrest or that he was about to be shot.

“While giving (Myers) Commands, (Brewer) shot (Myers) with a bean bag round from his personally owned 12-gauge shotgun,” the report says, adding the round penetrated Myers’ chest and he died at the scene. “(Brewer) later stated that he did not see … a weapon and that his intent in shooting (Myers) was to gain compliance.”

Deputy Suchy, who was holding a rifle with the safety on, did not believe Myer’s “behavior warranted a lethal response,” the report says, adding that he had considered using a Taser or baton instead.

Body cam footage from the time of the shooting showed Myers standing and not making an aggressive movement prior to being shot in the chest.

The less-lethal rounds are not meant to be aimed at the chest “unless the intent is to deliver deadly force.” Brewer’s “range and target of center mass are inconsistent with training standards” for bean bag ammunition. Brewer had no prior training but did have training after the shooting, the report said.

Brewer received the round from a former coworker when he worked in Texas. There were concerns and warnings when he received it.

Travis Martin, a deputy at Freestone County Sheriff’s Office, testified at Brewer’s trial that he told him to test the round before using it, but the first time Brewer shot it was at Myers, the AP reported.

Other concerns were also brought up about the bean bag:

For one, it was a rectangular round, which had been “discontinued for several years due to the likelihood of causing penetrating injuries,” the report says. Balloon-shaped bean bag rounds are used instead.

Martin’s family was considering selling the bean bag rounds at their tactical supply store and had Texas deputies test them out. Deputies said they “did not think it looked professionally made and discovered” the rounds were made from reloaded shells, the report says. Martin’s family decided that “it should not be fired at a person or used on duty by law enforcement,” the report says.

Martin believed he told Brewer that the round should not be fired at a person, the report says.

The report says that after getting training, Brewer said he “would not have changed his actions regarding the range or targeted body area in which he shot.”

In its report, KSCPOST cited a lack of good moral character and unprofessional conduct in revoking Brewer’s license.