KCPD will hire law firm to investigate alleged abuse of open records and evidence
The Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners will hire a law firm to investigate allegations made by a former department attorney who said the police force’s legal unit purposely hid criminal evidence and wrongly denied public records requests, according to Mayor Quinton Lucas.
Former assistant general counsel Ryan McCarty on Saturday laid out a litany of alleged wrongdoing in an eight-page letter, saying the police department’s general counsel Holly Dodge closed records that should be available to the public under the Missouri Open Records Law.
“We want to have a thorough investigation,” said Lucas, a member of the police board. “We will work with counsel that we have a relationship with to make that report and will look at every allegation that’s been raised to make sure that we can verify that all rules have been followed.
“And if there are any concerns, we will make sure that we correct them.”
Lucas made the announcement after the police board’s monthly meeting. During closed session, board members discussed how they would respond to the allegations in McCarty’s letter, which was emailed to dozens of political officials, including Gov. Mike Parson.
“We take seriously any concerns or complaints that are raised not only by whistleblowers, but officers and members of the public,” he said. “The police department does that regularly and this will be no different.
“The Board of Police Commissioners takes this very seriously.”
Lucas said the board voted unanimously to hire a law firm to investigation the claims.
Accompanying the letter was an attachment that contained nearly 400 pages of email correspondence, internal police department documents and legal correspondence.
In the letter, McCarty said Dodge closed documents that should be open by claiming they are part of an ongoing investigation. Among the allegations, McCarty said he heard top police department leaders propose that all emails be destroyed after 180 days.
“Over the course of the ensuing six months, the red flags kept coming with seemingly accelerating rapidity,” McCarty said. “The more I spoke up, the more I was shut out. The more I expressed concern about abuses, improprieties, and illegalities, the more I was blackballed, ostracized, and shunned.”
Tom Porto, a civil attorney who is representing McCarty, said his client did not have a comment about the investigation.
McCarty also said Dodge wrongly stepped in to choose which police documents to hand over to prosecutors in response to requests for material in criminal cases that could prove a client’s guilt or impeach the credibility of witnesses, including police officers.
On Monday, Lucas said hundreds of criminal cases could be reopened if claims leveled by McCarty prove to be true.
Lucas said more details about the investigation would be released soon.
“But ultimately I hope that this police department has been following the rules, laws and direction that we need to make sure that we’re finding justice for everyone here in Kansas City,” he said.
“There were very serious claims that were raised. We will make sure that we give them the respect and the diligence that’s necessary, and then we will make a decision in terms of what steps may be necessary thereafter.”
This story was originally published December 13, 2022 at 4:46 PM.
