No charges will be filed in connection with a verbal altercation involving Parkville Mayor Dean Katerndahl and a young woman at a local car wash after a police investigation and reviews by two city prosecutors.
Michael Marta, Platte County assistant prosecuting attorney, confirmed the decision this week after the case had been transferred to him.
“Following a thorough review of all the evidence in this case, I do not believe that a crime was committed,” Marta told the Landmark Monday.
Katerndahl said that he appreciated how the Parkville Police Department, the prosecutor and the special prosecutor assigned to the case handled the matter, calling it “thorough and fair.”
The incident occurred around 7:15 p.m. June 22 at the Go Car Wash, at 8717 N.W. 63rd St., along Hwy. 9.
Parkville Police Chief Kevin Chrisman previously told The Landmark the interactionbegan as “a verbal thing” involving a vacuum hose at the car wash. As words were exchanged, a woman believed to be in her 20s alleged Katerndahl “physically assaulted her in some fashion,” Chrisman said. Katerndahl denied the allegation.
“There wasn’t compelling evidence to substantiate an assault claim,” Chrisman said.
Neither party was injured or arrested the day it occurred. Police reviewed surveillance video from the car wash as part of the investigation, although the video did not include audio.
Katerndahl, 81, gave The Landmark his account of the confrontation shortly after it happened. He said that his wife “was verbally attacked by this woman when we got out to do the vacuum.”
The mayor said there appeared to be confusion over which vacuum hose served the stall where the vehicles were parked. One hose in the area apparently was not working.
“When we pulled in, she was next to us on the passenger side. My wife got out and the woman said ‘why the hell don’t you go somewhere else?,’” Katerndahl recalled. “My wife touched her on the shoulder and said, ‘sorry we didn’t realize.’”
Katerndahl said the woman then pulled out her phone to take a photograph.
“The woman took a photo of my license plate and I tried to take a photo of hers, but she covered it up. I may have brushed against her as I tried to take a photograph of that and she bumped me out of the way. And then the police arrived,” Katerndahl told The Landmark.
He said the woman was the one who called police twice from the scene.
After completing its investigation, the Parkville Police Department submitted the case to Parkville City Prosecutor Andrew Coulson for review and a decision on any charges. Coulson told The Landmark in July that the review was ongoing and declined further comment at the time.
When reached by phone Sept. 3, Coulson stated he had submitted a request for the case to be transferred to a special prosecutor and he “was out of it.” When asked why he petitioned to transfer the case, he refused to comment. Marta said the case was assigned to him due to a conflict of interest.
“The Parkville city prosecutor should not be investigating an incident involving the Parkville mayor,” Marta stated.
The police report and surveillance video were not previously available to the public while the case was under prosecutorial review. Investigative reports and details of an incident typically become confidential during that review to protect the integrity of a pending case.
With the case now closed, The Landmark obtained the police report, which corroborated Katerndahl’s account of the situation. The report classified the incident as “assault (minor or no visible injury).”
Two Parkville police officers and a sergeant responded to the scene and interviewed the mayor, his wife and the other woman involved.
The report also provided new details about what happened before officers arrived. The car wash manager and another employee witnessed the disagreement and spoke with those involved. Katerndahl identified himself to the employees as the mayor of Parkville, which is when the woman also learned he was the mayor.
The woman also recorded a 40-second cellphone video near the end of the encounter, shortly before police arrived. Officers reviewed the video as part of their investigation.
When speaking with officers at the scene, the woman indicated that she wanted to “assist in prosecution,” according to the report. She called 911 twice during the disagreement and contacted police again the following day seeking assistance in obtaining surveillance video from the car wash.
