Man killed on wedding night by Kansas City cop


Third generation Kansas City firefighter Anthony V. Bruno, 26, was fatally shot by an off-duty Kansas City police officer outside of Bruno’s wedding reception.

Around 2:30 a.m. on Dec. 1 the officer, whose name has not been released, was off-duty moonlighting as a security guard at a local Marriott hotel and had just finished his shift.  A report came over the officer’s radio that a cab driver was being assaulted in the area and that is when he came across Bruno and an unidentified man engaged in an altercation.  What happened next is unclear.  Kansas City police department officials say the officer attempted to break up the fight.  It is not known if Bruno was the aggressor.  It has not been revealed if the officer identified himself as a police officer, or what happened to the third party; specifically if the third party was detained or if the third party involved in the brawl was the same cab driver who was allegedly being assaulted.

The only information available presently is after the officer made contact Bruno fled on foot.  Bruno may have feared for his life, or may have instinctively fled the scene believing the officer was an ally of his present assailant.  Conversely, if he was the drunken aggressor, Bruno may have fled to avoid arrest.   The officer caught up to Bruno in two blocks, and a second altercation began which would leave Bruno dead from a single gunshot wound and the officer in critical condition with head injuries requiring surgery.

Kansas City Police Department Spokesman Captain Tye Grant spoke on behalf of the department:

The subject started assaulting the officer, and that got pretty bad.  That officer in fear of his life eventually fired his gun striking the subject.

Captain Grant spoke on the basis of total assumption, as the department acknowledged it had not yet reviewed the video evidence available through local surveillance cameras.

Video source: http://www.kshb.com/

Lou Colagiovanni is the editor of ruthless-politics.com, National Crime Reporter for Examiner.com, and editor of the political discussion community,”We survived Bush.  You will survive Obama.”  You may contact Lou at [email protected].