JAY-Z and his Team Roc initiative are taking legal action against the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department after helping fund an investigation into wrongful convictions in the county back in 2021.
The organization is of the view that the department has failed to follow through on a public records request issued they issued in November 2023 while looking into the “longstanding” pattern of alleged “abuse and misconduct.” In the new lawsuit, Team Roc writes that the KCKPD has been “stonewall[ing] plaintiffs for almost a year… Defendants have produced zero documents relating to any complaint or investigation into even a single instance of misconduct by any member of the KCKPD.”
The lawsuit continues: “Kansas City residents have suffered enormously as a result of KCKPD abuses. Some have been framed for crimes they did not commit; some have been coerced into providing false testimony; some have been sexually assaulted; some have endured brutal beatings; and some have even been killed. 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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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 04: (LR) Honoree Jay-Z accepts the Dr. Dre. Global Impact Award onstage during the 66th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 04, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
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Operating under the Kansas Open Records Act, Team Roc says it paid out $2,200 in fees to get access to the public records. Of the 225 documents that authorities have provided, they allegedly amount to mostly personnel locator records and training materials not directly related to the complaints of misconduct.
“This filing is because human beings with badges have betrayed the public’s trust … That type of behavior must be held to a standard,” Team Roc’s managing director, Dania Diaz said during an interview with NBC News.
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