Family of Charles Adair, Man Killed in Wyandotte County Jail, Says Bodycam Footage Was 'Devastating'

The Kansas City Globe e-Edition
  • Erica Adair, Charles Adair's sister, and lawyers representing his family speak outside the Wyandotte County courthouse Wednesday after viewing body camera footage of the moments leading up to his death for the first time. (Jodi Fortino/KCUR 89.3)
    Erica Adair, Charles Adair's sister, and lawyers representing his family speak outside the Wyandotte County courthouse Wednesday after viewing body camera footage of the moments leading up to his death for the first time. (Jodi Fortino/KCUR 89.3)
  • Charles Adair, in an undated photograph included in his obituary. (Marcom-Harvey Funeral Care)
    Charles Adair, in an undated photograph included in his obituary. (Marcom-Harvey Funeral Care)

    By Jodi Fortino,

    KCUR

    Nearly a year after a 50-year-old Kansas City, Kansas, man was killed in the Wyandotte County jail, his family has viewed body camera footage showing the moments leading up to his death.

    Charles Adair died on July 5, 2025, after a sheriff’s deputy knelt on his back for one minute and 26 seconds, according to police documents. The county coroner ruled the death a homicide by mech…