Why did Jay-Z's Team Roc sue Kansas City? Lawsuit seeking police misconduct records, explored

Jay-Z's Team Roc, which is the social justice department of the Roc Nation entertainment company, filed a lawsuit against Kansas City on November 19, 2024, as reported by NBC News.

According to the news portal's report, Team Roc sued Kansas City for violating public record laws under the Kansas Open Records Act (KORA), by failing to produce legal records concerning decade-long claims of police abuse and misconduct. The lawsuit has been filed in partnership with the Midwest Innocence Project in Wyandotte County District Court.

As per details of the lawsuit obtained by NBC News, the suit mentions:

"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 claims that the Kansas City Police Department hasn't released important documents pertaining to the complaints regarding former and current officers and detectives after Jay-Z's Roc Nation submitted a request for the records in November 2023.

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"The KCKPD has a long history of turning a blind eye"- Jay-Z's Team Roc mentions in lawsuit against Kansas City

As per NBC News' report of the lawsuit filed by Jay-Z's Team Roc against Kansas City, the philanthropic and social justice division's interest in the city began in 2021. Team Roc discovered via local media that the FBI had found multiple claims of civil rights violations of excessive force and office misconduct that dated back to the 1990s.

The lawsuit against the Kansas City Police Department and the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City claims that the department and the city have stonewalled the plaintiffs for a year.

NBC's report mentions that as a part of its request under the Kansas Open Records Act, the plaintiffs mentioned they agreed to pay $2,200 in fees.

However, they were provided with 225 documents which consisted of personal locator records like office shifts, assignments, and details of training materials and department policies. Jay-Z's Team Roc and the Midwest Innocence Project argue the government entities responded by using what the lawsuit describes as “obstructionist tactics,” providing only a fraction of the requested documents.

Mentioning the documents that failed to address allegations of abuse, the lawsuit stated that there wasn't any document concerning "any complaint or investigation into even a single instance of misconduct by any member of the KCKPD," which the plaintiffs requested.

The lawsuit by Jay-Z's Team Roc also 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."

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According to a report on Jay-Z's Team Roc's lawsuit by All HipHop dated November 20, 2024, the lawsuit aims to avail of records of former KCKPD officers and investigative divisions like former Police Chief Terry Ziegler.

Additionally, one of the serious accusations in the lawsuit features a case concerning a former KCKPD detective Roger Golubski who was charged with federal crimes like framing individuals for crimes they did not commit and s*xual exploitation. Golubski's trial will begin in December 2024.

Moreover, NBC News mentioned that the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas, and the Kansas City Police haven't commented on the lawsuit yet.