Ex-Independence officer called ‘overly emotional’ after officer’s death, suit says
A former Independence police officer filed a lawsuit against the department Monday, saying she was forced to resign after facing alleged misogyny from superiors following the Feb. 2024 killing of Independence police officer Cody Allen.
Erin Wildman is seeking an undisclosed amount in damages on claims of sex discrimination and retaliation, according to Jackson County court documents.
Wildman was one of the first officers to arrive at the home in northeastern Independence where Drexel Mack, 41, and Allen, 35, were shot and killed. The woman, who was friends with Allen, performed CPR on the man.
According to a lawsuit filed in Jackson County court Monday, in two debriefs after the incident, Wildman was referred to as “overly emotional” and “irrational” before she was transferred to a different position. Eventually, as a result of the retaliation she alleged she experienced, Wildman said in court filings she felt she had no choice but to resign.
The Independence Police Department “cannot comment on pending litigation,” department spokesperson Officer Bryan Conley said in an email to The Star Wednesday.
Deaths of Cody Allen and Drexel Mack
Allen and Mack, a Jackson County courts civil process server, were both shot and killed on Feb. 29, 2024, during an attemped eviction at a home in northeast Independence. Two other officers were injured, but survived.
Shots were fired just after 1 p.m., first striking Mack. Civil process servers then called police to the scene, located in the 1100 block of North Elsea Smith Road.
Multiple Independence police officers, including Wildman, responded to the incident. More gunfire broke out, and three officers were injured, Allen fatally.
Larry Acree, 71, was eventually taken into custody with minor injuries. He faces two counts of first-degree murder and a slew of armed criminal action and assault charges related to the incident, according to Jackson County court documents.
His case is set for a jury trial starting on July 6, 2026, according to court documents.
Officer called “overly emotional, irrational”
Wildman was the fourth police officer to arrive on the scene of the shooting, according to her petition filed in Jackson County court Monday.
Wildman performed CPR on Allen, who was already dead, at the scene per IPD procedure, according to the lawsuit. She was friends with Allen, she said in the lawsuit, and was five months postpartum at the time of the incident.
The petition said Wildman completed her duty, “no matter how difficult and traumatic the experience was for her.”
Following the incident, Wildman was criticized for her performance at the scene at a debrief on March 11, 2024, and in a written debrief released on Aug. 28, 2024, according to the petition.
Wildman was the only female officer listed in the debriefs, and she was never interviewed for the written debrief, even though six male officers were, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit claims Wildman was “intentionally excluded” from interviews, leading to the belief that she had performed poorly during the incident.
As a result, Wildman transferred to a school resource officer position before the written debrief was released, according to the lawsuit.
After the debrief was released in August, the lawsuit claims multiple officers listed in the report said the debrief, written by Gladstone Police Department Chief of Police Fred Farris, was “cherry-picked,” and had taken what officers said out of context or omitted what they said from the report.
Other officers mentioned in the report told Wildman they were given advance notice that the report was going to be released, the petition said. Wildman, however, was not given any warning, the lawsuit said.
The debrief allegedly alludes to the belief that Wildman exhibited “unbecoming conduct, and called into question her competence to properly perform duties,” the lawsuit said.
Wildman continued to work as a school resource officer for several months with no issues, according to the lawsuit. On Dec. 6, 2024, she was notified that an internal affairs investigation had been opened against her regarding the incident in February 2024.
The lawsuit states that in the notification, Wildman was told there were allegations against her, but it did not specify what orders the woman allegedly violated.
Because the department-wide debriefs called Wildman “overly emotional” and “irrational,” the lawsuit claimed she felt she had no choice but to resign. She submitted her resignation to IPD Police Chief Adam Dustman on Jan. 13, 2025.
On Jan. 30, 2025, Wildman was interviewed by the department as part of an internal affairs investigation, where she recounted what happened the day of the fatal police shooting the previous February, according to the lawsuit.
At the end of the interview, officers “expressed appreciation for her transparency throughout the interview,” according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit claims Wildman’s career was brought to a halt because she was never given the chance to speak about what happened that day, according to the lawsuit.
Every mention of Wildman in the debriefs was negative, the lawsuit claims, and when the woman was eventually interviewed about the incident, it was shown she “had an appropriate emotional response” to the situation.
Wildman’s attorneys declined to further comment on her case.
The Star’s Kendrick Calfee, Robert A. Cronkleton, Glenn E. Rice, Nathan Pilling and Judy L. Thomas contributed to reporting.
