Accused former KCK police detective Golubski might as well be on the mayoral ballot
Roger Golubski, the much-accused former Kansas City, Kansas, police detective, is effectively on the ballot in Tuesday’s mayoral election.
Incumbent David Alvey has insinuated that his challenger, Tyrone Garner, is complicit in Golubski’s many alleged crimes because Garner worked in the KCKPD for decades and so had to have known what was going on there.
That last part may well be true; how could Garner not have known?
But are we really going to blame him, the one Black guy who was in leadership at the department after Golubski’s time, for Golubski’s lifetime of alleged crimes against the Black community? That’s what Garner asked in a mayoral debate Wednesday night. And that’s even more true.
Let’s be real: Everybody knew. As a former KCK drug dealer told me, Golubski in the day “was running everything, and everybody in town knew it. It was pure frickin’ chaos — you could look out the courthouse window and see it — so how could you not know? Golubski was the biggest gangster out there.”
But here’s a fact: David Alvey’s brother Andrew also worked for the KCKPD while Golubski was there, before moving onto the local FBI bureau that for years did nothing about reports of Golubski’s wrongdoing.
So if Garner’s complicit because he was there, then I’m not sure that’s a street Alvey should want to walk down. Alvey had a near-coronary when I asked him about KCK nepotism in an interview before the mayoral primary, but his is one of the families that has run the place for a long time. Which does make the status quo his responsibility.
Bottom line? I wish Garner would stop saying he knew nothing about anything, because that makes him sound dumb, and I don’t think that’s accurate.
But a vote for Alvey is without any doubt a vote for keeping things just as they are. That’s why he could very well win: Beneficiaries of the patronage system, who work for the not-very-diverse Unified Government, have every reason to turn out on Tuesday.
Whereas those who don’t even think the votes will be tallied accurately may not turn out at all.
Alvey: No independent police investigation needed
Garner isn’t Joan of Arc, and I’m not claiming otherwise. But at least he doesn’t say that all is well when it’s not. And that’s absolutely what Alvey has said and is saying.
At Wednesday’s debate, Alvey was asked why he didn’t say more about KCKPD corruption sooner: For the last couple of years, Alvey said, “legal counsel of the city was aware of this grand jury investigation” of Golubski and friends, “and because the police department were participating, we were providing all the documentation, anything that was being asked in this investigation, the UG was cooperating with this, but again we were advised legally, don’t say anything because this is an FBI investigation, you simply can’t enter into that conversation. And so, we did not.”
Not. True. Alvey did weigh in, repeatedly, to suggest that nothing was wrong. “Frankly, I don’t believe we need an independent investigation of the police department,” he told our editorial board in July. “I think we have to have the chief, who is responsible for this, to come to us with an honest assessment based on his experience and his understanding of what is needed, and I trust (new Police Chief Karl) Oakman to do that. I think that if Chief Oakman says that I need additional help to figure this out, then — and of course we know KBI has investigated some things. They turned it over to the FBI. The FBI is currently investigating, so I don’t make any comments on that, obviously, but whatever comes out of those investigations, if there’s something lacking, we’re going to continue to take a look, but I don’t think — at this point I’m not calling for a Department of Justice investigation.”
This is not saying nothing. This is saying that nothing needs to be said.
Asked about the lack of community trust in the police in that July meeting, Alvey disputed the premise of the question: “I would say that’s not accurate. There are some parts of our community that doesn’t trust, but most of our community is not asking for this.” I guess that depends on what you think “our community” looks like.
‘All of the white people are getting nervous’
And at least Garner says no, actually, not all is well.
“Mr. Garner, you were on the police force for 22 years at the same time Mr. Golubski was a cop,” he was asked at Wednesday’s debate. “Cops do talk. You knew nothing of Golubski’s reputation?”
No, Garner said: “The person you’re talking about started in 1975, when I was 6 years old. … I got into management as deputy chief in 2015. The person you’re talking about retired in 2010.”
“The person you’re talking about” isn’t Voldemort; it’s just Roger Golubski, and we shouldn’t be afraid to say his name.
“Read the stories about this case,” Garner said at the debate, “because it’s really important that you know the facts. And the fact is that there was a concentrated effort from Day One to stop any independent investigations to come into Wyandotte County. … This mayor dragged his feet in that regard.”
In response, Alvey said, “I did nothing to try and stop any investigation. That would be pointless. … I would never, never deprive people of justice. That’s not who I am.”
It isn’t? Long after Lamonte McIntyre was freed from prison, where he served 23 years for two Kansas City, Kansas murders that he did not commit, Alvey told me he still thought McIntyre was guilty. The mayor was all for depriving McIntyre of justice, even then. He was all for protecting the department, and in a case investigated by Golubski. So if Alvey wants to talk complicity, let’s do.
Ahead of Tuesday’s election, “all of the white people are getting nervous,” an elected official told me. Because they know that if Tyrone Garner does get elected, then there’s more of a chance that everyone gets investigated.
And to me, that’s why Garner should be elected.
This story was originally published October 28, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
