Kansas City man charged with stealing city bus, assaulting officer: Prosecutor
A Kansas City man is facing three felony charges in Jackson County court after being accused of stealing a city bus Sunday and assaulting a police officer in the process.
Shahid R. Pratt, 49, was charged Monday with second-degree assault, stealing a motor vehicle, and first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle.
Pratt allegedly stole the bus by forcing open the drivers' window of the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority bus as it sat at a stop near 75th Street and Prospect Avenue, according to court documents. After climbing through the window, he locked the bus from the inside and drove away on Prospect, security footage from inside the bus shows. No one else was inside the bus at the time, according to court documents.
The bus' emergency brake system kicked in around 77th and Prospect, where the Kansas City Police Department responded to the alleged theft around 6:20 a.m. Sunday, court documents read. Responding officers allegedly told Pratt to leave the bus multiple times before trying to unlock the doors from the outside. Pratt then allegedly reached through the window and hit one of the officers on the arm with a metal bar, before banging around the inside of the bus with the bar, according to court records.
Officers used a Taser and pepper spray on Pratt while arresting him, according to court documents.
Pratt has previously been charged in Missouri with eleven felonies including assault, battery, aggravated robbery, attempted drug trafficking and illegal weapon possession, according to court records. He was most recently charged with trespassing on Feb. 24.
Pratt is being held in the Jackson County Detention Center on a $50,000 bond.
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