Court hearing canceled Tuesday for Kansas City police lawsuit against city
A court hearing for the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners’ lawsuit against the city over a recently passed budget measure was canceled by a judge’s order Tuesday.
The hearing had been scheduled for Tuesday afternoon in the police board’s lawsuit against the city, Mayor Quinton Lucas, members of the City Council, city manager Brian Platt and city finance director Tammy Queen.
The lawsuit, filed Friday in Jackson County Circuit Court, seeks to challenge an ordinance giving the city some authority over a portion of the police department’s budget.
In court filings, the police board says Missouri law gives the police commissioners exclusive management of the department. It seeks the return of $42 million that the city measure places in a fund to be controlled by negotiation between the police board and the city manager.
In a written order Tuesday, Circuit Court Judge Kevin D. Harrell canceled a court hearing that had been scheduled for a temporary restraining order sought by the police board. The police board was seeking to prevent the City Council from reallocating the $42 million from the police budget to fund a newly devised “Community Services and Prevention Fund.”
Harrell gave attorneys for the city 14 days to respond to the police board’s lawsuit. During that period, Harrell ordered the city to continue to fund police operations at the present spending levels.
Lucas said in an emailed statement Tuesday that the city is prepared to take its argument before a judge.
“Kansas City will fight vigorously this effort to keep our hands tied in solving one of our greatest challenges for decades,” Lucas said. “Kansas City will fight to shine light on best practices and community collaboration with our police officers, rather than stay in the dark about where taxpayer money goes, what we’re doing, and how the hell we can once and for all get out of this situation.
“We have a murder problem and it’s getting worse. I’m committed to solving it, even if it takes us going all the way to the United States Supreme Court,” he said. “Our lawyers worked hard through the holiday weekend to review the filings and to provide the City a vigorous defense. We look forward to having our arguments on behalf of Kansas City’s taxpayers, neighborhoods, and survivors of violent crime heard in court.”
Two weeks ago, the City Council voted 9-4 to cut this year’s police budget back to 20% of the city’s general fund, a minimum required by state law.
The measure requires that the police board negotiate with Kansas City Manager Brian Platt to decide how those funds will be spent. The police board would enter into a contractual agreement with the city to provide specific services to combat crime, provide intervention and other services.
The City Council earmarked an additional $3 million in police funding to hire a new class of recruits from the police academy. Police Chief Rick Smith has previously said that he has not been able to hire new recruits since February 2020.
Several police board members opposed the idea and voted Friday to proceed with legal action. Lucas voted against filing the lawsuit.
The board alleges that the ordinances approved by the city council provide no means to return money to the police department if commissioners do not reach an agreement with the city manager.
“The $42,282,444 stripped from the police department’s budget was not because of any deficit or financial shortfalls facing the City and, on information and belief, no similar cuts were made to departments of the City government,” according to the lawsuit.
Lucas has said Kansas City may have a legal argument under the Equal Protection Clause under the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution, which says people have to be treated the same under the law.
The city also has numerous contractual agreements with other entities, including one with the police department to enforce parking violation in downtown Kansas City.
Supporters of the measure said it would bring accountability and a public voice to police spending.
This story was originally published June 1, 2021 at 10:51 AM.
