Independence police officer sues over discrimination, says she faced retaliation
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Veteran officer sues Independence PD alleging sex discrimination and retaliation.
- She alleges forced removal as PIO, and retaliation after her complaints.
- Complaint cites unequal treatment, chief's conduct and says probe was inadequate.
An 18-year veteran female officer is suing the Independence Police Department, alleging discrimination and retaliation after raising concerns about leadership decisions within the department.
Attorneys for Kelly Rupert-Marriott filed a complaint in Jackson County Circuit Court on Jan. 7, alleging she was forced out of her job as the Police Department’s public information officer in November 2024.
Rupert-Marriott had worked in the role for about nine months when she was told by then-Chief Adam Dustman that she was not meeting expectations, according to the court filing.
The lawsuit alleges that when Rupert-Marriott asked a deputy chief to clarify what those expectations were, her request was ignored. Rupert-Marriott was later told she would need to turn in her department-issued phone and vehicle, something the filing claims was not commonly required of male officers.
According to the lawsuit, Rupert-Marriott was then told by a deputy chief, acting on orders from Dustman, that if she did not voluntarily submit a request to return to patrol, she would be subject to an internal affairs investigation.
“Plaintiff was also told that even if she ‘survived’ the IA investigation and it resulted in favorable findings for her, that Chief Dustman would make her position as Public Information Officer even more difficult since he did not believe she was a ‘good fit,’” the lawsuit alleges.
Dustman resigned in August, after he had been on self-requested leave for three months prior. No reason was given for his resignation.
Rupert-Marriott was then placed on modified duty, and her PIO responsibilities were transferred to Officer Bryan Conley. Conley did not respond to requests for comment on the allegations in the lawsuit.
Two days after returning her department vehicle and phone, Rupert-Marriott was told on Nov. 12, 2024, that she was the subject of an internal affairs investigation.
On Dec. 16, 2024, Rupert-Marriott filed a discrimination complaint with the city’s human resources. In the complaint, Rupert-Marriott outlined what she described as ongoing sex discrimination and illegal activity within the department.
The lawsuit filing details several allegations Rupert-Marriott reported to human resources, including claims that male officers were given extensions on job performance plans despite documented deficiencies.
The complaint also alleges that Dustman repeatedly gave special treatment to male officers while holding female officers to a higher standard.
One example from the filing alleges that a female officer with a history of assisting citizens experiencing mental health crises was denied a crisis intervention team position in favor of a male officer with a documented history of accountability issues.
“Male officers who have numerous performance issues while in the field training program have been ‘pushed through to passing’ against the evaluation recommendations of the training officers,” the lawsuit said. “Thus risking the lives of citizens and officers with the release of such employees who fail to meet training requirements with satisfactory performance ratings.”
The complaint also alleges that male sergeants assigned to the training unit failed to conduct regularly scheduled training sessions.
The complaint described incidents involving male officers who were allegedly intoxicated while operating department vehicles, including cases that resulted in injuries.
“Male officers who have been intoxicated and chose to drive, which resulted in injury to themselves and three other officers, one requiring life flight from the scene, placed on modified duty in dispatch to call take,” according to the complaint. “Every bit of this was in the public eye and reported on by news stations associating the males as officers for the City of Independence.”
The filing also describes an incident involving a male sergeant who was allegedly intoxicated, assaulted firefighters and attempted to interfere with the investigation of a female Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper. According to the complaint, the sergeant was placed on modified duty in dispatch to take calls and ultimately retained his position with the department.
The lawsuit alleges that Dustman arrived at the scene of an officer-involved shooting in February 2024 after drinking alcohol.
“Chief Dustman responded to an officer-involved shooting scene on Feb. 22, 2024, in his assigned department vehicle, a Ford truck,” the lawsuit alleges. “He admitted to command staff Major McVay, Deputy Chief Sumstad, Officer Jack Taylor and myself, to have been drinking after the odor of alcohol was noticed from his person. Offers to drive him and his department-issued vehicle home were denied by Adam Dustman, who chose to leave the scene driving himself.”
After Rupert-Marriott filed her discrimination complaint, the department hired an independent investigator to review the allegations. According to the lawsuit, the attorney hired to conduct the investigation found no wrongdoing by the department.
Nearly a year later, the internal affairs investigation against Rupert-Marriott was closed, and the allegations against her were sustained. She was demoted the same day she received the investigation’s findings.
“All of these actions together evidence a campaign of retaliation aimed at Plaintiff for her protected activity,” the lawsuit states. “Plaintiff submitted a grievance on September 16, 2025, continuing to oppose the discrimination and retaliation. Without conducting a thorough investigation, IPD instead doubled down on their discriminatory behavior and denied her grievance.”
Sarah Duggan, an attorney for Rupert-Marriott, declined to comment about the lawsuit.
The filing requests damages for the three counts of sex discrimination, retaliation and violation of whistleblower protections.
Independence officials previously settled a lawsuit in 2020 accusing another former police chief of sexual harassment and assault for $100,000. That lawsuit alleged that a former analyst of the department resigned after “repeated instances of sexually charged and abusive behavior.”
The lawsuit said former chief Brad Halsey regularly sent the woman sexually explicit text messages.
