
Jay-Z’s Team Roc is taking legal action against Kansas City, Kansas, claiming it has withheld documents regarding police misconduct.
Jay-Z’s Team Roc, the social justice division of Roc Nation, and the Midwest Innocence Project have filed a lawsuit against the Kansas City Police Department and the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas, NBC News reports.
“For decades, communities in Kansas City, Kansas—particularly minority and immigrant communities—have been subjected to an alarming pattern of abuse and other serious misconduct by the KCKPD,” the lawsuit states.
“Rather than promoting a culture of transparency and accountability, the KCKPD has a long history of turning a blind eye to (at best) and even covering up (if not worse) abusive and/or corrupt conduct by its officers.”
None of the documents provided pertain to “any complaint or investigation into even a single instance of misconduct by any member of the KCKPD,” as requested, the suit says.
Team Roc’s managing director, Dania Diaz, said personnel documents were relinquished for only three out of 16 requests, with some still unanswered within a reasonable timeframe as required by law.
“This filing is because human beings with badges have betrayed the public’s trust …That type of behavior must be held to a standard,” Diaz told NBC News.
Missouri’s public records law exempts certain documents from public access, such as personnel records of public employees and criminal investigation files. However, Team Roc argues that the Unified Government denied its request with “broad, undifferentiated strokes,” failing to differentiate between records from ongoing and closed investigations and ignoring that most privacy concerns could be addressed through redactions.
Despite paying a substantial fee for what was described as an “extensive” and “voluminous” request, the response consisted of generic explanations the organizations believe fall short of legal compliance.
“More importantly, the Unified Government’s blanket claim about ‘unfounded allegations’ is inadequate and highlights the core issue: the breakdown of public trust in law enforcement,” the lawsuit states.
The legal filing comes as the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department (KCKPD) faces increasing public backlash over allegations of corruption and civil rights violations.
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Source: Black Enterprise