Faith group protests alleged sexual abuse by KCK police, demands firing of chief
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Former KCK detective Roger Golubski
Roger Golubski, a former Kansas City, Kansas, police detective, has been accused of using his badge to exploit and rape vulnerable Black women. Here’s the story so far.
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Dozens of protesters marched through downtown Kansas City, Kansas, Wednesday evening, calling for change within the police department.
The protest comes weeks after news surfaced that a federal lawsuit was filed on behalf of a former police cadet who said she was fired by the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department after reporting she was sexually assaulted by a supervising officer.
Protesters said they’ve seen no change from the police department since Lamonte McIntyre was released from prison in 2017 after serving 23 years for murders he didn’t commit. A lawsuit was filed in federal court last October against the city and police for alleged sexual coercion and fabricated statements that led to his arrest.
The event Wednesday, called the “March for Justice,” was organized by the Metro Organization for Racial and Economic Equity, also called MORE2 . The group describes itself as an interfaith Kansas City-based organization focusing on “racial and economic justice through metropolitan equity and social change.”
The Rev. Rick Behrens is a co-chair on the organization’s executive board and pastor of Grandview Park Presbyterian Church. A native of Wyandotte County, Behrens said he has seen that the same “broken” criminal justice system that failed McIntyre has “failed countless others in our community,” including people of color and women.
“We gather today to protest injustice and to call for change. In my own Christian tradition, we often speak of the need for repentance when one has been in the wrong. Over time, repentance has been reduced to a simple process of asking for forgiveness, but in actuality, the fullness of repentance evokes the image of physically turning from one direction to a new direction,” Behrens said. “That’s why we’re here, to demand that Wyandotte County, Kansas City, Kansas, and specifically the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department turn in a new direction.”
The group gathered in front of the Hilton Garden Inn and marched to the Kansas City, Kansas municipal court building, where leaders demanded that Unified Government Mayor and CEO David Alvey fire Police Chief Terry Zeigler; ensure state and federal investigations into former detective Roger Golubski, who worked on the McIntyre case; and start a bilingual hotline separate from the police department for people to report instances of misconduct.
The police department issued a statement Wednesday night, declining to make additional comments about the lawsuits. It also pointed to its existing hotline, where citizens can report police misconduct.
“The department will cooperate with any outside investigation as we are confident we meet or exceed currently accepted practices/standards in law enforcement regarding how we handle citizen complaints through the Internal Affairs process,” police said in the statement.
“If members of the MORE2 organization has information about current police misconduct by a member of the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department, they are encouraged to provide the information to Internal Affairs or any other organization who has jurisdiction so it can be thoroughly investigated and the proper corrective action taken.”
Outside the courthouse, addressing the crowd, the Rev. Bobby Love, pastor at Second Baptist Church of Olathe and co-char of the organization’s Kansas clergy, said “injustices that have occurred here in Wyandotte County are concerns to all of us.”
“No matter where you live, no matter where you work, no matter where you go to school at, it is a concern of all of us in the metropolitan area,” Love said. “We’re demanding action.”
Love asked the crowd to join him in a chant in front of the courthouse before moving on to police headquarters.
“We are united.”
“If not us, then who?” asked Love, “If not now, then when?”
This story was originally published June 5, 2019 at 8:55 PM.
