The long-awaited federal civil rights trial of former Kansas City, Kansas, Police Detective Roger Golubski ended before it could begin on the morning of Dec. 2, when the 71-year-old was found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound at his Edwardsville home.
Justice for Wyandotte co-founder Khadijah Hardaway says there was a dark cloud over the Topeka courtroom that morning and that news of Golubski’s death brought an overwhelming sense of grief.
“My jaw dropped like a cartoon,” says Hardaway. “It’s heart wrenching for the victims not to get their day in court.”
Golubski faced six federal civil rights charges for allegedly kidnapping and sexually assaulting two women while serving as a police officer between 1998 and 2002.
A Pattern of Predation
Federal prosecutors had prepared a sweeping case against Golubski, and planned to present testimony from up to nine women who would describe instances of rape, stalking, or attempted assault by the former detective. .
One survivor, identified in court documents as S.K., was only 13 years old when the reported abuse began. The other central victim, Ophelia Williams, came forward publicly about her experience. She reported that Golubski first assaulted her in 1999, shortly after her teenage sons were arrested in a homicide case he was investigating.
The prosecution’s case would have demonstrated how Golubski allegedly targeted vulnerable Black women, using his badge and position of authority to shield himself from justice while committing heinous crimes between 1983 and 2004.
Deeper Corruption
A second federal indictment exposed even darker allegations. Prosecutors charged Golubski with running a protection racket and collaborating on a sex trafficking operation with drug kingpin Cecil Brooks between 1996 and 1998. The operation allegedly held young women and girls in “involuntary servitude” at a Kansas City, KS apartment complex.
Activists say that corruption in the KCK Police Dept. extends well beyond Golubski’s individual actions. Additional lawsuits suggest a systemic pattern of misconduct that was enabled and protected by department leadership over multiple decades.
A 2023 federal lawsuit filed by five Black women provides some of the most comprehensive allegations of institutional corruption. The suit names four former police chiefs – Thomas Dailey, James Swafford, Ronald Miller, and Terry Zeigler – as defendants. Notably, Zeigler served as Golubski’s partner before rising to become chief of police, raising questions about how much leadership knew about and potentially enabled misconduct.
“From Day One, it was clear that Golubski did not act alone,” says Hardaway.
The lawsuit describes what plaintiffs characterize as a “government-sanctioned protection racket” involving multiple detectives beyond Golubski, including Zeigler, Michael Kill, Clayton Bye, and Dennis Ware. These officers allegedly provided protection to gang operations dating back to 1975, received payments in the form of money and drugs, provided advance notice of police raids, and assisted in trafficking women.
The lawsuit alleges that this corruption was “common knowledge” within the department and the Wyandotte County Unified Government, yet the officers involved were never reprimanded and instead received promotions. Former Chief Dailey, for instance, was previously accused of accepting money from a prostitution ring in exchange for advance notice of police raids.
Current KCKPD Chief Karl Oakman has initiated a review of 155 cases involving Golubski, with 45 reviewed so far. However, social justice activists have criticized the department investigating itself, calling it a “major red flag.” They have long demanded a U.S. Dept. of Justice investigation into the entire department.
The McIntyre Connection
The case that first brought public attention to Golubski’s misconduct involved Lamonte McIntyre, who spent 23 years in prison for a 1994 double murder he didn’t commit. Following Golubski’s death, McIntyre expressed his frustration to the Kansas City Star.
“This is not justice. Justice is facing your accusers,” said McIntyre. “If you commit a crime against the society that you are a part of, justice is facing that society. Him killing himself is not justice. That’s him avoiding it.”
Court documents revealed troubling connections between the murder case and Golubski’s alleged protection racket. The murder victims – cousins Daniel Quinn and Donald Ewing – had been threatened by Cecil Brooks days before their deaths over allegedly stolen money or drugs.
Yet Golubski identified McIntyre as the killer within six hours, conducting minimal investigation.
McIntyre’s mother, Rose, alleged Golubski framed her son because she rejected his sexual advances. The McIntyres won a $12.5 million settlement from the Unified Government in June 2022.
Questions Surrounding Death
According to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, Edwardsville Police received a 911 call from a neighbor who reported hearing a gunshot. When officers arrived on the scene, they found Golubski deceased on his back porch with a fatal gunshot wound. The KBI statement indicated there were “no indications of foul play.”
The timing – just before jury selection was set to begin in Topeka – raised immediate questions about supervision of the former detective, who had been under house arrest. Golubski had been prohibited from possessing “firearms, destructive devices, or other weapons” as a condition of his release.
“We know he’s not supposed to have any guns, so how in hell did that happen?” says Hardaway.
The KBI announced Dec. 3 it would investigate how Golubski accessed a weapon while under house arrest. The incident follows a pattern of questionable supervision – in March 2023, Golubski violated his pretrial release by visiting a restaurant but faced no serious consequences.
The social justice organization MORE2 has called for an outside investigation of Golubski’s death. In a statement, the organization said they have “spoken to several survivors of KCKPD violence, nonfeasance, and cover-ups” who are in disbelief about the suicide ruling.
Legislative Response
Kansas state Sen. David Haley, who represents Wyandotte County, says he plans to reintroduced for the 2025 Kansas legislative session two reform bills inspired by Golubski’s alleged crimes.
One bill would provide payment from the perpetrators for people who are wrongfully incarcerated and the other would make it a crime for someone in a position of authority, like a police officer, to misuse their power to harm or injure someone.
“We have victims who are still going through mental, emotional, financial [hardship and] have no recourse,” Haley told Fox4KC. “If he were found guilty, in this case we would want the act that I’m pushing for to offset some of the costs of the victims.”
The bills(Senate Bills 186 & 187) were introduced in a previous session but received no action from the legislature. Haley says he hopes the Golubski charges will help open the eyes of members of the legislature to the value of the recourse afforded victims under these bills.
What Happens Next
As investigations into Golubski’s death proceed, Justice for Wyandotte maintains that his passing cannot mark the end of the fight for accountability.
“I would like to see as many of those officers that are listed as co-conspirators [in various lawsuits] and are still living brought to justice,” says Hardaway.
The organization continues to push for greater transparency from KCKPD and the Unified Government, having successfully advocated for the creation of a cold-case unit to investigate more than 280 unsolved cases, many involving Black victims.
Justice for Wyandotte is also currently working to organize a community town hall to begin the healing process and chart a path forward for meaningful reform. They maintain a solidarity fund to help sustain victims through the justice process by assisting with utilities, housing, and therapy needs.
“We need our municipalities to do better,” says Hardaway. “The biggest issue in the Wyandotte community is that these people feel beholden to protect [law enforcement] rather than the community.”
