Kansas City police sergeant alleges racial discrimination, retaliation in lawsuit
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Sgt. Terry Grimmett filed a lawsuit in early April alleging racial discrimination.
- The complaint alleges supervisors enforced uniform and work policies against Grimmett.
- Grimmett received a 10-day suspension, one-year secondary employment ban.
A Kansas City police sergeant is suing the department, claiming he was targeted for discipline and retaliation after complaining that supervisors enforced policies more strictly against him than against white officers.
The lawsuit, filed in early April in Jackson County Circuit Court on behalf of Sgt. Terry Grimmett alleges racial discrimination, retaliation and a hostile work environment.
According to the lawsuit, a captain told Grimmett that a jacket he purchased from an approved department uniform store was out of policy and directed him to stop wearing it. The complaint alleges the captain did not enforce the policy against non-Black officers.
Weeks later, Grimmett pointed out a white officer wearing the same jacket. Instead of correcting the officer, the captain said it “looked good,” according to the complaint.
Grimmett’s lawyer, David Lunceford, declined to comment on the lawsuit.
Police Department officials said that they would not comment as part of a general practice to “ensure fairness for all sides involved.”
When the East Patrol Division was assigned a new captain in early 2025, Grimmett wore the jacket to a meeting with fellow sergeants to see if it would be addressed. According to the lawsuit, uniform enforcement has varied depending on the captain.
The new captain did not address the jacket. Instead, he later sent an email directing Grimmett not to wear an undershirt he had been seen wearing.
Grimmett replied, acknowledging the directive but said he believed it was applied in a discriminatory manner, noting that other white officers wearing the same undershirt were not singled out. He said he would notify human resources.
The lawsuit alleges the interactions escalated after Grimmett raised concerns with human resources.
Alleged retaliation after HR complaint
Five days later, Grimmett was selected for a random drug test on his day off, which, according to the complaint, should not include officers who are off duty.
“The personnel whom Plaintiff reported to Human Resources approached him shortly afterwards, aggressively and angrily asking Plaintiff why Plaintiff thought they were being racist,” the complaint said.
Grimmett was then subjected to an investigation into his hours worked by the department. The lawsuit claims Grimmett followed a “widely accepted practice” of starting within 30 minutes of his shift and ending within an hour after it. The practice is designed to allow time to check equipment, do administrative work and load vehicles.
He then met with a major and the new captain and was asked about his work hours, which the lawsuit claims were later used against him during an internal affairs investigation without a required warning.
Grimmett was also handed a request for incident review alleging he ignored orders and wore an out-of-policy jacket.
The lawsuit claims that per Police Department policy, anyone reporting discrimination is supposed to be separated from the accused, but Grimmett was never moved, “forcing Plaintiff to continue working in a hostile environment with command staff actively discriminating and retaliating against him.”
In July, Grimmett was notified that he would receive a letter of reprimand, which the lawsuit claims was inconsistent with his previously spotless record.
He then received a negative performance review for the first time since joining the department in 2012, and was notified he was the subject of a misconduct investigation opened the same month he submitted his complaint to human resources.
A 2023 press release showed Grimmett receiving a 2021 award for valor for rescuing children in a stand-off during his time as a SWAT officer. The release also highlighted his promotion to sergeant in 2021, calling him an officer who “led by example.”
A video posted on the Police Department’s social media pages showed Grimmett donating his extra clothes and shoes to homeless individuals around the city in 2021.
Grimmett was offered to have his letter of reprimand reduced to grievance counseling if he signed a waiver agreeing not to challenge the punishment in August, to which he refused.
“On or about September 10, 2025, KCPD formally notified Plaintiff that his complaints had been forwarded to an outside investigator,” the lawsuit said. “On or about November 14, 2025, Plaintiff was interviewed by the outside investigator. As of the date of this Petition, Plaintiff has not been informed of any outcome, disposition, or any details regarding that investigation.”
The department’s discipline and accountability division recommended demotion as a result of the internal affairs investigation, according to the lawsuit.
This was ultimately reduced to a 10-day suspension without pay and a one-year suspension from having a second job.
“While the demotion was removed, this discipline is grossly disproportionate and directly affects Plaintiff financially,” the lawsuit said.
Grimmett was then transferred to the Metro Patrol Division, despite having been selected for a sergeant position in the community engagement division. Since 2023, Grimmett has been passed over at least six times for sergeant positions in favor of white officers, the lawsuit alleges.
When he got to the Metro Patrol Division, Grimmett found that all patrol sectors were already staffed.
“Plaintiff is effectively a sergeant with no command—a supervisor with no one to supervise, whose only assigned duty is reviewing reports for a sector whose permanent sergeant is temporarily on medical leave,” the lawsuit said. “Since Plaintiff’s transfer to MPD, he has been systematically excluded from group communications. Plaintiff has not been included in any emails sent to the MPD sergeants, despite being assigned there.”
Grimmett was involved in an on-duty vehicle collision and was transported to an emergency room trauma unit in February. The overnight captain, who is responsible for responding to incidents and notifying higher-ranking officers, never came to the hospital to check on him, according to the lawsuit.
Instead, the captain visited the other officers involved, who were both white. Grimmett’s first communication from the captain was an instruction to complete a vehicle damage form.
“Defendant’s combined actions have caused Plaintiff significant stress and created a hostile work environment where Plaintiff fears that any minor incident will be used as more pretext for further unwarranted discipline,” the lawsuit said.
In addition to damages, the lawsuit seeks to void the letter of reprimand and the suspension from secondary employment.
