Police officer facing wrongful death lawsuit was given 'valor' awards for fatal shooting

Police officer facing wrongful death lawsuit was given 'valor' awards for fatal shooting

The family of Brandon Lynch, 27, is suing the officer, Conner Thompson, and the city of Olathe, Kansas, claiming excessive force and improper training, which the city denies

A former Kansas police officer whom prosecutors declined to charge in the 2022 shooting death of a man with a known history of mental health crises was twice presented top “valor” awards by law enforcement groups for his actions during the fatal encounter.

The ceremonies stand in sharp contrast to the federal wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of Brandon Lynch, 27, a year ago.

One of the commendations, a “Gold Award for Uncommon Valor” presented by the Kansas Association of Chiefs of Police on May 1, 2024, was handed out two days before the family filed its suit against the officer, Conner Thompson, and the city of Olathe.

In the complaint filed in the District of Kansas, Lynch’s family claims Thompson “unnecessarily escalated the situation” and applied an “unreasonable use of excessive force” that failed to consider proper crisis intervention training.

Details of the awards — the first of which was given to Thompson by the Kansas City Metropolitan Area Chiefs and Sheriffs Association in November 2023 — have not been previously reported. A detailed review of the awards shows that Thompson and his then-partner were honored for what police say occurred on the night Lynch was fatally shot, New Year’s Eve in 2022.

Conner Thompson is recognized at the Kansas Association of Chiefs of Police Annual Valor Awards ceremony on May 1, 2024.

Conner Thompson is recognized at the Kansas Association of Chiefs of Police annual Valor Awards on May 1, 2024.Olathe Police Department

Specifically, the Metropolitan Area Chiefs and Sheriffs Association said the officers “responded to a disturbance” at a home where a woman called to say her brother had assaulted her. Once at the home, the officers told the woman to wait outside while they entered and were confronted by the man, who was armed with a knife and Taser, the group’s narrative of events said.

When the man “continued to be aggressive” and did not obey orders, Thompson’s partner attempted to use his department-issued Taser on him, but it was “ineffective,” the narrative said