‘Derogatory and discriminatory comments’: Read the lawsuit filed by former KCPD officer
Former Kansas City police officer Scott Wells said being Black in the department was like “being a mouse in a snake cage.”
“You’re constantly watching your back 24/7,” he told The Star.
In Wells’ nearly two decades at KCPD, sergeants nitpicked his every move, he said. They would criticize him if he left a soda cup in a wagon or kept the radio on a station that appealed to Black listeners. Many cops forgot to log off of computers, but he said he was the only one yelled at.
In 2015, Wells filed a lawsuit in 2015 alleging he faced harassment from a white sergeant who berated him about his diabetes and made a racist comment.
“You wouldn’t be diabetic if you didn’t eat fried chicken every day,” remarked Sgt. Brian Schoen, according to Wells.
Wells said the sergeant had never seen him eat anything.
“I mean it was racism that — it was unbelievable,” Wells, 51, told The Star.
Wells’ case settled for nearly $515,000.
Read the full lawsuit here:
This story was originally published March 27, 2022 at 5:00 AM.