By Miranda Pelletier
Early on Nov. 18, community members gathered on the steps of the Wyandotte County Courthouse for a rally and press conference to demand justice for the killing of Charles Adair.
On July 4, 2024, Charles Adair was arrested for a misdemeanor traffic offense and was booked into the Wyandotte County Detention Center. Just one day later, his life was ended at the hands of Deputy Richard Fatherley and 10 other officers responding to a “disturbance” in the facility. Even though Charles was handcuffed and in a wheelchair, deputies used excessive force on him, with Fatherley kneeling on his neck and back for 1 minute and 26 seconds, leading to his suffocation and death.
Deputy Fatherley was charged with second-degree murder and was issued a summons to appear in court. The 9am rally on Nov. 18 was supposed to coincide with Fatherley’s first in-person hearing, but as soon as word of the rally got out, Fatherley’s court appearance was pushed back to a virtual-only hearing at 11:30 in a cowardly attempt to avoid accountability.
Nevertheless, the rally continued, with activists and family members of the deceased appealing to the press and public to hold law enforcement accountable and demand fairness and transparency in the investigation, including releasing the full video footage from the incident. Justice for Wyandotte organizer Nikki Richardson led the crowd in chants of “No Justice, No Peace” and “Let’s Be Fair for Charles Adair” followed by a 1-minute-and-26-second moment of silence for Charles.
“That’s how long it took them to take my brother’s life,” Charles’s brother Anthony said mournfully after the short 1-minute-26-second timer had elapsed.
“Today may appear like a day of fair justice because Deputy Fatherley is having a hearing,” Richardson stated, “but being issued a summons for homicide is not fair and equal justice.” She explained that not arresting Fatherly and instead giving a mere summons for the charge of second-degree murder sets a dangerous precedent for future cases.
Charles’s family are calling for Fatherley’s arrest and an end to special treatment from the Sheriff’s Office, as well as accountability for the other officers who were complicit in Charles’s death. One family member said, “There were 11 people in that room and you’re telling us not one of them was man enough to step up and say, ‘Hey, this ain’t right’?”
PeaceWorks KC Vice Chair Ann Suellentrop was also in attendance, being a 50-year resident of Wyandotte herself. “This long history of corruption in Wyandotte County must end,” she said. “Let’s be fair for Charles Adair.”
To sign the petition and stay updated with the case, please visit https://www.justiceforwyandotte.org/charlesadair.
–Miranda Pelletier is a Kansas activist and volunteer writer and photographer for PeaceWorks. © 2025, Miranda Pelletier, Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike 4.0 International License.
