KCPD officer made ‘unauthorized’ search of Mayor Lucas in database, prosecutors say
A Kansas City police officer conducted an “unauthorized” search of Mayor Quinton Lucas in a database — an incident Jackson County prosecutors are reviewing for potential charges, prosecutors confirmed.
Lucas was alerted Sept. 8 to the officer’s search of him. Prosecutors were trying to obtain additional information about it, Dion Sankar, an assistant Jackson County prosecutor, wrote to Lucas at the time in an email, which was obtained this week by The Star.
Sankar’s email did not specify what information the officer searched for or why. The officer, who was not named in the email, allegedly used a criminal justice information system, which can be used to check if a person has a criminal history, among other things.
“Under these circumstances, you are the potential victim in any investigation of that officer’s actions for the search/review,” Sankar wrote to Lucas.
Mike Mansur, a spokesman for Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker, confirmed that prosecutors are reviewing the officer’s actions.
A law enforcement source told The Star that the officer looked up Lucas’ home address several months ago.
In an email, Sgt. Jake Becchina, a spokesman for the Kansas City Police Department, said the force was made aware in May of the incident in which an officer, who was assigned to patrol, “conducted an unauthorized computer check of Mayor Lucas.”
“Another officer reported to their chain of command the potential violation and it was investigated,” Becchina said. “The investigation has concluded.”
Becchina said the Missouri Sunshine Law prohibited him from saying if the officer was disciplined. He also declined to identify the officer or provide details of what the officer searched for.
Police department policy states that using the information system, known as CJIS, is prohibited for personal use. It warns that using it in a “careless or unethical” manner is unprofessional and could result in discipline or legal sanctions.
Lucas, who is one of five members of the Board of Police Commissioners, which oversees the KCPD, has sought to reform the department in ways that he says would make it more accountable to city leaders and taxpayers.
In a statement to The Star, Lucas said he was disappointed to learn of the police officer’s “unwarranted and unlawful searching of myself and my family’s personal information through official criminal justice databases.”
“Having received threats during my term and having recently spent a night standing outside my home with my wife and baby while Kansas City firefighters checked out an explosion threat that had been called into our home, there is real fear and concern these threats create for those around me,” Lucas said. “I trust the Department with my family’s security, and I know the vast majority of our officers go out and do good work each day. I hope the Department makes clear this misconduct falls well below the standards of anyone affiliated with the Kansas City Police Department.”
Lauren Bonds, legal director for the National Police Accountability Project, said mayors have increasingly become targets of police officers who are disgruntled about more accountability and stricter budget allocations of their departments.
“So you don’t want to assume bad intentions, but maybe they are just curious,” Bonds said. “But you definitely do see a lot of police departments and police officers trying to retaliate against, essentially, their bosses, their mayor, because they’re trying to provide more equity between civilians and police.”
Lora McDonald, executive director of MORE2, a social justice organization that has been critical of the KCPD, said the incident sounded “very indicative” of the policing culture in the city, where officers behave “with impunity.” There should be zero tolerance for that, she said.
“That’s really taking some latitude with your access if you’re doing it against” the mayor, McDonald said. “So why would you not do it against your neighbor, or your pastor, or some random citizen that you just want to check into?”
MORE2 is among civil rights groups that have called for Police Chief Rick Smith to resign, contending he has failed to hold troubled officers accountable, among other things. Smith has said he has no plans to step down.
In a potentially similar case last year, prosecutors charged a Blue Springs police dispatcher after she used a state system to look up records about a man who she was “feuding with” who lived near her, according to Baker’s office. The dispatcher was charged with a misdemeanor count of misuse of official information by a public servant and pleaded guilty in April, records show.
This story was originally published October 8, 2021 at 12:05 PM.
