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FBI Probes Traffic Stop That Left Missouri Teen In Critical Condition

The FBI is inves­ti­gat­ing alle­ga­tions of exces­sive force by a Missouri police offi­cer dur­ing a traf­fic stop that left a teenage motorist th (24)in crit­i­cal con­di­tion, author­i­ties said on Monday.

The FBI said in a state­ment that it is inves­ti­gat­ing whether police offi­cer Tim Runnels over­stepped his author­i­ty and vio­lat­ed the civ­il rights of Bryce Masters when he pulled over the 17-year-old and used a stun gun on him on Sunday in Independence, Missouri, a Kansas City suburb.

The inci­dent comes five weeks after a white offi­cer in Ferguson, Missouri fatal­ly shot an unarmed black teenag­er, spark­ing racial unrest and high­light­ing con­cern about the use of force by police.

Runnels used a stun gun on Masters after he did not coöper­ate when his vehi­cle was stopped, Paul Thurman, an Independence Police Department spokesman, said dur­ing a news con­fer­ence on Monday. Read it here: http://​news​.msn​.com/​c​r​i​m​e​-​j​u​s​t​i​c​e​/​f​b​i​-​p​r​o​b​e​s​-​t​r​a​f​f​i​c​-​s​t​o​p​-​t​h​a​t​-​l​e​f​t​-​m​i​s​s​o​u​r​i​-​t​e​e​n​-​i​n​-​c​r​i​t​i​c​a​l​-​c​o​n​d​i​t​ion