Lawsuit claims airport officials falsely arrested KC woman, mistook her for another woman
A Kansas City woman has filed a civil lawsuit against two security officers at Kansas City International Airport, alleging she was wrongfully detained after officers mistook her for another Black woman who she said had stolen her drivers’ license.
Elaine McAlister, 32, visited the airport on Oct. 14, 2023, to fly to Montego Bay, Jamaica, according to the lawsuit filed Jan. 31 in Platte County Court.
While waiting for her flight, McAlister, who is Black, was allegedly approached by two airport security officers and a border control agent, who asked to see her passport and drivers’ license, according to the lawsuit. They then handcuffed McAlister and told her she was under arrest in relation to an Aug. 19, 2023 incident where they alleged she had been pulled over in Johnson County and found to be illegally in possession of marijuana.
McAlister said she had not been in Johnson County at the time and had not been pulled over, according to the lawsuit. However, her drivers’ license had allegedly been stolen earlier that month, as she explained to the airport officers, according to the lawsuit.
The three officers who arrested McAlister were following a Kansas warrant that had her name, but photos of the other woman, according to the lawsuit. The suit, which includes photos of both women, alleges that the other woman looked nothing like McAlister and had a number of conspicuous, visible tattoos that McAlister did not have, including on her arm and leg.
“It is obvious to any reasonable person, let alone a law enforcement officer, that the person in the Johnson County, Kansas booking photograph has no similarity to Plaintiff other than also appearing to be a black/African-American female,” the lawsuit reads.
Along with the two airport security officers, McAlister’s lawsuit also names the city of Kansas City, as well as the border control agent who contributed to her arrest.
Despite explanations from both McAlister and a friend, as well as a review of McAlister’s new drivers’ license, the officers transferred McAlister to the custody of the Platte County Sheriff’s Office. She spent four days in jail and was released on Oct. 18.
While she was detained, an employee of the Platte County Sheriff’s Office asked McAlister to show him her tattoos, according to the lawsuit. The employee agreed they did not match those on the woman originally charged in Kansas, according to court records.
The lawsuit says that in addition to the mistaken identity, McAlister was wrongfully detained, since the warrant for the alleged imposter was in Kansas and not Missouri.
McAlister alleges her fingerprints were not taken when she was arrested, which would have cleared up the mistaken identity situation.
She also alleges police did not seek a Missouri warrant until the day after McAlister was detained. The possession charge handed down in Kansas would have been a misdemeanor, not a felony, the lawsuit reads, which means that suspicion of a crime committed would not have been enough cause for officers to detain her without an active Missouri warrant.
The Kansas City Department of Aviation and a spokeswoman for the city were both unavailable to comment on the pending lawsuit. Lawyers for McAlister were also unavailable for comment.
McAlister and her attorneys plan to seek a jury trial. A first hearing regarding the lawsuit will take place in Platte County court on May 9.
