Key Points
- Community leaders demand DOJ intervention into KCPD and KCKPD for civil rights violations.
- Protesters march across state line, sharing personal stories of police brutality victims.
- Speakers call for accountability, local control of KCPD, and DOJ investigation into corruption.
In an unprecedented show of unity, community and faith leaders from both sides of the state line came together on Sat., Sept. 30 to demand federal intervention by the Department of Justice (DOJ) into the practices of the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department (KCPD) and the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department (KCKPD).
More than a hundred protesters marched over a mile down 39th street, from Rainbow to Roanoke Park, symbolically crossing from Kansas into Missouri. The march, organized by a coalition of local organizations, aimed to address alleged civil rights violations, excessive use of force, and systemic practices and patterns they say plague both police departments.
Protesters, with signs and megaphones, were clear in their message to the DOJ: “We can’t wait, investigate!” Chanting in unison, they crossed the state line, marching to Roanoke Park in Kansas City, MO, where they rallied and heard from victims, their loved ones, and community leaders.
Keith Dixon, President of MORE2, stressed that citizens had reached a tipping point with recurring instances of excessive use of force by both police departments. He said the Black community is targeted more and has excessive force used against them disproportionately by police departments on both sides of the state line.
“We want the DOJ to come in and look at these police organizations because there is corruption here,” said Dixon.
Several speakers at the rally shared personal stories of loved ones who had lost their lives due to excessive use of force. Aquil Bey, the stepfather of Cameron Lamb, spoke about Lamb’s tragic death in 2019 at the hands of KCPD detective Eric DeValkenaere, who was later convicted of manslaughter but is appealing the conviction.
“The system breeds corruption,” said Bey. “You get folks like the ex-chief of police who went to the scene [of Lamb’s shooting] did no investigation, and let my son bleed out, then told other officers that ‘the bad guy’s dead.’”
Ophelia Williams, a survivor of alleged sexual assault by a retired KCK detective, Roger Golubski, shared how Golubski targeted both her and her children. Golubski has now been twice indicted, once in September 2022 for sexually assaulting and kidnapping a woman and a teenager from 1998 to 2002, and again in November for conspiring to sex-traffic girls between 1996 and 1998. Williams pointed out that many in the law enforcement community were aware of Golubski’s actions, raising serious concerns about accountability.
“I’m tired of waiting, I’ve waited over 40 years for justice,” said Ophelia Williams. “We need the Department of Justice to investigate, to uncover what has been covered up for decades.”
Amaia Cook with the Urban League of Greater Kansas City said that trust has been eroded in both police departments. Cook called for local control of the KCPD as opposed to the unusual state control of the department, saying local control would allow for more accountability. Cook addressed victims of police misconduct in attendance, like Williams and Lamonte McIntyre, as well as the families of Cameron Lamb, Amaree’ya Henderson, and Ryan Stokes.
“Your loss is our loss as a community, and your pain is our pain,” said Cook. “We are here as a coalition joined together to demand accountability and equity.”
The unity and numbers in attendance underscored the growing support for change, accountability and justice within the Kansas City metro area. The participating organizations in the march included the Concerned Clergy Coalition, MORE2 (The Metro Organization for Racial and Economic Equity), KCLEAP (Kansas City Law Enforcement Accountability Project), Equal Minded Cafe, #GoodTroubleKC, It’s Time For Justice, Real Justice Network, Urban League of Greater Kansas City, and We The Voice.
