Michael Bushnell
Publisher

Charges have been filed against a 37 year old Kansas City man who was shot by Kansas City, Missouri Police officers who responded to the 400 block of South Gladstone Boulevard on a sound of shots call.

Charles D. Tatum of Kansas City has been charged with Armed Criminal Action and Unlawful Use of a Weapon, both of which are felony charges.

Court records show that on the evening of March 14th, KCPD officers responded to the 400 block of S. Gladstone Boulevard on a sound of shots call. Up on arrival, officers observed a black, male subject, later identified as Tatum, sitting on the sidewalk holding a black pistol.

Officers shouted commands at Tatum, telling him to drop the gun. Tatum, as noted in the case’s probable cause statement, “raised the weapon to almost shoulder height.” One of the responding officers discharged his duty weapon firing two shots in Tatum’s direction.

Officers then commanded Tatum to roll away from the gun on the ground. Additional officers arrived and as a group approached Tatum, taking him in to custody without further incident. He was transported to an area hospital with a gunshot wound to his hand.

Tatum remains in custody in the Jackson County Detention Center downtown. His bond has been set at $25,000. The Missouri State Highway Patrol independently investigated this case. At the time of this incident, Tatum had two active warrants for failure to appear on two separate DWI cases dating back to 2020 and 2021. He was released from custody in both of those cases on his own recognizance.