Judge rules former officer in KU athletic tickets case was not fired because of race

A federal judge has ruled that a former Lawrence police officer involved in dismissing speeding tickets for a University of Kansas athletics employee was not fired because of his race.

Michael Monroe was fired form the police department in March 2012 after an investigation into allegations tickets were dismissed in exchange for Kansas athletic events tickets. He sued the city and Chief Tarik Khatib in 2012. He claimed he was fired because of his race.

U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren ruled last week that evidence showed Monroe was fired because he took “inexcusable actions,” not because of his race.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports the police department conducted two investigations into allegations that its investigations division dismissed tickets for Rodney Jones, a former assistant athletics director at Kansas.