KCPD sergeant sues police board, alleges racial bias, retaliation after injury

A Kansas City police sergeant has filed a lawsuit against the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners, alleging race and gender discrimination, retaliation and denial of workplace accommodations after she was placed on limited duty following off-duty injuries.

In a lawsuit filed May 27 in Jackson County Circuit Court, Sgt. Charissa Crawford, a 22-year veteran officer who is Black, alleges she was repeatedly denied overtime opportunities working as a call-taker while white, male employees were permitted to work those shifts.

Crawford suffered shoulder and foot injuries unrelated to her duties as an officer that placed her on limited-duty status beginning in January 2025.

The complaint alleges Crawford also was denied favorable assignments and workplace accommodations while white, male and younger employees received better treatment.

She sought to continue working despite her injuries, requesting overtime opportunities and a regular assignment as a call-taker. The lawsuit states she hoped overtime would help offset lost income from off-duty assignments she could no longer perform.

Crawford was told she would need to sit with another call-taker to get acclimated to the system, despite already being trained on it, but that training never occurred.

“Despite this, Plaintiff observed white, male, and female employees, as well as Hispanic male employees, being permitted to work overtime as call-takers, while Plaintiff was denied the same opportunity,” the lawsuit states.

Crawford’s attorney, EmmaLee Wilson said these types of cases are aimed at holding the department accountable and hopefully affecting some kind of change in the department.

“KCPD has had a lot of these race discrimination lawsuits filed against them in the last six months, and there is a recurring theme that is developing, which is African American sergeants being treated differently than their white counterparts,” Wilson said.

Police Department officials declined to comment on the pending litigation, saying they do so to ensure fairness to all parties involved.

Unexpected transfer before surgery

Crawford asked about assisting with the South Patrol Property Crimes division since she had prior detective experience, but was told they didn’t need any help, according to the lawsuit.

“Shortly afterward, a white male officer from patrol was allowed to work a 28-day assignment assisting with cases, and he did not have prior investigation experience,” the lawsuit states.

Crawford went as far as to ask the Employment Unit of the department about limited-duty work, but was told that a sergeant, who is a white male, on limited duty was already working there and no other positions would be allowed, according to the complaint.

“These responses showed a clear pattern of denying Plaintiff opportunities while granting them to others who are not African-American women,” the complaint reads.

In April 2025, Crawford was unexpectedly transferred to the communications unit to do an “unfavorable assignment,” while a white female officer was allowed to remain on light duty at South Patrol, according to the complaint. Crawford didn’t learn about the transfer until one week before her scheduled shoulder surgery.

“This forced Plaintiff to work the day before her surgery, and as a result, Plaintiff was unable to take a rest day to prepare for surgery,” the complaint said.

The lawsuit said that Crawford worked in the communications department for six weeks with a sling on her arm after surgery, which required her to use her non-dominant hand to sign documents and complete assignments.

Crawford again was denied requests to work overtime as a call-taker, and once again a white male sergeant was allowed to work as a call-taker while on limited duty.

Crawford was eventually transferred to South Patrol for supervisory work, but her schedule was not aligned with the officers, which prevented her from supervising them effectively, according to the complaint.

‘Continuing retaliation’ after complaints

The lawsuit also describes an August 2025 interaction in which Crawford alleges her captain greeted her with “degrading and inappropriate” comments, by saying “Hey, girl.” After she objected, the captain allegedly responded, “Well, then, woman.” Crawford reported the incident through a confidential human resources complaint, according to the petition.

“This comment, made in the presence of another sergeant who later remarked that he could see Plaintiff was about to ‘go off,’ and how that was demeaning, disrespectful, and unprofessional, was witnessed by the other sergeant who stated, ‘I can’t believe that came out of his mouth,’” the complaint states.

Crawford reported the comment to a human resources confidential email in August, and was later interviewed. The lawsuit claims that no action has been taken to correct the “discrimination and harassment” that Crawford has reported.

She later made an initial charge of discrimination with the Missouri Commission on Human Rights, and has experienced continuing retaliation. The lawsuit alleges that the captain has targeted and scrutinized Crawford on a near constant basis.

Following the charge of discrimination filed by Crawford, all sergeants were notified by the Police Department that they would no longer be allowed to work as call-takers for overtime. But white officers and sergeants were still allowed to fill overtime as dispatchers, according to the filing.

The lawsuit alleges that no Black law enforcement personnel were trained to work as dispatchers, and when Crawford requested training to become one, she was denied.

The lawsuit also states that officers are allowed to wear more casual clothes on Fridays, such as sneakers, jeans and even Kansas City Chiefs apparel. But Crawford has been disciplined for wearing the same attire.

Crawford’s allegations about selective dress-code enforcement mirror claims raised in another lawsuit filed earlier this year by a different sergeant on unequal dress code policy enforcement by the department.

Crawford is seeking lost wages and benefits, compensatory damages, attorneys’ fees and other damages allowed under Missouri law.

Ben Wheeler

The Kansas City Star