More2 fighting to get KCK Police Department case to DOJ
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — A civil rights organization in Kansas City, Kansas thought it would be presenting its case for an investigation into the KCK Police Department directly to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Kansas and Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Tuesday night.
Instead, a few days before the meeting, More2 Executive Director Lora McDonald said she started hearing that U.S. Attorney Kate Brubacher and Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the Department of Justice Kristen Clarke wouldn’t be coming after all.
“We’ve written [Clarke] two in depth letters with all the right legal things and we’ve heard nothing back,” McDonald said.
So, McDonald was excited at the prospect of having Clarke in the audience to hear about interactions with KCK Police Officers directly.
More2 laid out its case for why the DOJ needs to investigate the entire KCK Police Department especially after former Detective Roger Golubski was arrested on federal charges accusing him of running a sex-trafficking ring and abusing his power as a police officer.
Golubski was arrested in September 2022 and was most-recently seen in January 2024 at a Culvers in KCK while on house arrest.
More2 Attorney Spencer Webster says he thinks it’s important for DOJ officials to hear about KCK residents’ interactions with police officers.
“Really the DOJ is the only entity that can [investigate KCKPD] independently so we want to continue to explain to them why it’s necessary,” Webster said. “Because this was never just about Golubski, right?”
Webster told FOX4 that the DOJ officials decided not to attend after a complaint from the KCK Police Department.
KCKPD says it did not submit a complaint to the DOJ.
A Department of Justice spokesperson told FOX4 that DOJ staffers would attend the meeting to listen to community concerns.
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“How well they take notes, we don’t know any of that,” Webster said. “But what we do know is if the decision makers are in the room, its more likely that something is going to happen.”
McDonald says More2 hopes to either find other ways to make progress with the DOJ or the Biden Administration directly.
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