Social justice group reignites call for Mayor Garner to request DOJ probe into KCKPD
Members of a social justice advocacy organization on Tuesday expressed concern that Wyandotte County Mayor Tyrone Garner was walking away from his campaign platform that he would call for a Department of Justice investigation into the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department.
Since taking office in December, Garner has told various news outlets, including The Star, that he supports “outside investigations” into the police department where he once worked. The department has faced a litany of accusations of misconduct.
David Grummon, an attorney in Wyandotte County and a member of the Metro Organization for Racial and Economic Equity, or MORE2 said during a press conference the group held Tuesday that Garner appears to be hedging his campaign promise. An “open investigation” is not the same as an investigation by the Department of Justice, Grummon said.
“We wanted and we expected a public announcement,” Grummon said. “That’s what he wanted and I think the voters expect that.”
In a statement Tuesday evening, Garner said he is still supports an independent investigation into allegations of criminal misconduct by anyone within the Unified Government.
Garner said he reached out to Wyandotte County District Attorney Mark Dupree and Kansas City, Kansas Police Chief Karl Oakman within his first 90 days in office, “for the purpose of clarification and reinforcement of the shared vision our community has for forward thinking equitable 21st Century criminal justice best practices.”
This is not the first time MORE2 has called for a federal investigation into the police department. But the organization is now increasing its pressure against the newly-elected mayor. Tuesday’s press conference coincided with Garner’s 100th day in office.
The organization also is not alone in its calls. In January, Team Roc, the social justice arm of rapper Jay-Z’s Roc Nation, renewed its calls for an intense investigation into alleged corruption within the department.
Shortly after, Garner said in a statement to The Star that he, “welcomes and continues to support any independent investigations into allegations of criminal wrongdoing that are geared towards bringing clarity, justice, and the comfort of closure to those that have demanded and pursued inquiry, healing, and reconciliation.”
Garner defeated incumbent David Alvey in November’s general election. Throughout his campaign, Garner said he supported a federal investigation into the police department where he worked for 32 years. A federal investigation into the police department was topic of conversation throughout the mayoral election in 2021.
“We felt confident that, if elected, Tyrone Garner would call for a DOJ investigation because of the statements Garner had made to local media discussing his strong support for a DOJ investigation,” Grummon said.
In July 2021, Garner told The Star’s Melinda Henneberger that he would, “like to take the bold step and go to D.C. and meet and have the Justice department come in here.”
Grummon said that statement was straightforward.
Activists, community leaders and residents of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, have long called for a federal investigation into the police department.
At the core of calls for an investigation are allegations against former detective Roger Golubksi, who has been accused of using his badge to rape vulnerable Black women and was involved in the wrongful conviction that sent Lamonte McIntyre to prison for 23 years for murders he did not commit.
McIntyre is suing the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas and the detectives who investigated the homicides of which he was wrongfully convicted. He is calling for the Unified Government to pay him nearly $93.6 million in damages.
In October, it was revealed that federal prosecutors in Kansas had initiated a criminal grand jury investigation into Golubksi. Shortly after the news broke, the police department said it had been responding to subpoenas from the FBI about Golubski since 2019.
But the federal grand jury investigation into Golubski is not the same as a federal investigation into the department, Grummon said Tuesday.
“That’s investigating Roger Golubski,” Grummon said. “What we believe Mayor Garner said he would ask for publicly is a pattern or practice investigation of the entire KCKPD department.”
This story was originally published March 22, 2022 at 5:38 PM.
