The social justice division of Jay Z’s Roc Nation entertainment firm, Team Roc, filed a lawsuit on Tuesday, alleging that Kansas City, Kansas, has broken public records laws by neglecting to “timely produce” police data pertaining to decades-old claims of misbehavior and abuse by the police.
The lawsuit, which was filed in Wyandotte County District Court in collaboration with the Midwest Innocence Project, claims that following Roc Nation’s November 2023 records request, the Kansas City Police Department has failed to provide significant documents pertaining to complaints against current and former detectives and officers.
The lawsuit, initially received by NBC News, states that “communities in Kansas City, Kansas, particularly minority and immigrant communities, have been subjected to an alarming pattern of abuse and other serious misconduct by the KCKPD for decades.”
“Rather than promoting a culture of transparency and accountability, the KCKPD has a long history of turning a blind eye to (at best) and even covering up (if not worse) abusive and/or corrupt conduct by its officers,” the lawsuit states.
According to the complaint, the plaintiffs have been “stonewalled” by the Kansas City Police Department and the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas, for about a year. The plaintiffs claimed that they were first charged $2,200 in fees as part of their request under the Kansas Open Records Act, which they consented to pay.
However, as of right now, the plaintiffs claim that the 225 papers submitted are primarily personnel locator records that detail officer assignments and shifts, with a smaller number of documents including department policies and training materials. The lawsuit claims that not a single document pertaining to “any complaint or investigation into even a single instance of misconduct by any member of the KCKPD,” as called for, has been produced.
In recent years, the city’s police department has been under fire for alleged civil rights abuses and corruption. In light of the alleged abuses committed by former Kansas City police officer Det. Roger Golubski, who was charged with federal civil rights crimes in September 2022 after he was accused of using Black women for sex and falsely accusing others of crimes they claim they did not commit, activists have called for a more extensive federal investigation.
Dania Diaz, the managing director of Team Roc, stated in an interview with NBC News that they only obtained personnel documents pertaining to three of the sixteen requests, and that several requests were not adequately addressed within the legally required time frame.
“This filing is because human beings with badges have betrayed the public’s trust,” she said, adding that they feel litigation is necessary to force action and ultimately bring responsibility to a department whose officers’ activities have come under criticism. There must be a standard for that kind of behavior.
The Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas, declined to comment on ongoing litigation, and Kansas City police did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the case.
According to the state’s public records law, some documents—such as criminal investigation records and employee personnel information—are exempt from public scrutiny.
However, the plaintiffs argue that the unified government “failed to distinguish between records relating to pending and closed investigations and failed to acknowledge that virtually all legitimate privacy concerns could be resolved through redactions” when it rejected their request in “broad, undifferentiated strokes.”
They further state that boilerplate wording they feel violates the law was used in response to the substantial amount paid to the government in what they were informed would be a “extensive” and “voluminous” request.
“More important, the Unified Government’s blanket assertion about ‘unfounded allegations’ is insufficient and reveals the heart of the problem when the public trust in law enforcement is broken,” the lawsuit states.
In order to get the information delivered within 30 days, the plaintiffs are requesting that a judge step in.
According to Max Kautsch, a Lawrence, Kansas, First Amendment rights attorney, the state’s open records statute depends on whether releasing a document serves the public interest. He went on to say that there is a valid claim that documents pertaining to police misbehavior can “shed light” on the way the public is being serviced.
statute enforcement documents pertaining to criminal complaints are frequently denied access, despite Kansas’ statute being “liberally construed to promote openness when there’s ambiguity” about whether a record is public, according to Kautsch.
After hearing via local media in 2021 that the FBI had discovered multiple claims of civil rights abuses of cop misbehavior and excessive force going back to the 1990s, Team Roc’s interest in Kansas City was sparked.
Team Roc filed a lawsuit against the department in 2022 and placed a full-page ad in The Washington Post demanding an investigation. A “blue wall of silence” had allowed alleged misbehavior to fester over decades, according to a letter by Team Roc lawyer Alex Spiro to the Justice Department.
In Kansas City, where over half of the population is Black and Latino, Team Roc and other groups banded together after Golubski’s arrest to pressure the Justice Department to begin a police “pattern and practice” probe. That hasn’t happened, despite the fact that a neighboring Kansas City, Missouri, police force’s Black officers are the subject of an inquiry into claims of prejudice.
According to the Kansas City Star, the probe has not gained much traction, which has caused some community organizations and activists for police reform to lose faith that the Justice Department, under a Trump administration, will also examine the police in Kansas City. The DOJ all but abandoned extensive civil rights investigations of police agencies during the first Trump administration.
A request for comment regarding Trump’s possible plans for the Justice Department’s police probes was not immediately answered by his transition team.
When Golubski’s trial starts next month, the focus on Kansas City, Kansas, police is anticipated to resurface. After 35 years on the force, Golubski retired in 2010 and entered a not guilty plea to six charges of civil rights violations.
A request on community concerns was not immediately answered by Kansas City police. The Department of Justice refrained from commenting.
Karl Oakman, the chief of police in Kansas City, has previously stated that he would cooperate with any investigation; nevertheless, Diaz argues that the agency has not shown any readiness to be more open.
“We strongly believe that everyone wants to live in a society where they feel safe,” she stated. “We are open to speaking to anyone who cares, and if this is not resolved before [Trump] takes office, we will work with the new administration to hopefully get a resolution that’s decades long awaited.”
Note: Thank you for visiting our website! We strive to keep you informed with the latest updates based on expected timelines, although please note that we are not affiliated with any official bodies. Our team is committed to ensuring accuracy and transparency in our reporting, verifying all information before publication. We aim to bring you reliable news, and if you have any questions or concerns about our content, feel free to reach out to us via email. We appreciate your trust and support!