Kansas City police accountability lawsuits center on a single unusual fact: Kansas City, Missouri is the only major American city whose police department is run by a state-appointed board rather than local elected officials. That structure has produced a chain of overlapping legal fights — a board lawsuit that forced the city to restore $42 million to the police budget, a civil rights case challenging the constitutionality of state control, a Missouri Supreme Court decision that voided a 2022 constitutional amendment on police funding, and a wave of misconduct settlements the city has no authority to prevent.
Who Actually Runs the Kansas City Police
The Kansas City Police Department has been under state control, with brief interruptions, since 1874.1Missouri Independent. State Control of Kansas City’s Police Has Roots in the Civil War The Board of Police Commissioners has five members: the mayor of Kansas City and four commissioners appointed by the governor of Missouri, each serving four-year terms subject to Missouri Senate confirmation. The board sets department policy, oversees the budget, and hires the police chief. Commissioners can be removed only by the governor, and only for official misconduct.2KCUR. Kansas City’s New Police Chief Was Chosen by a State-Controlled Board. Here’s How It Works
That arrangement means Kansas City taxpayers fund a police department their elected council cannot directly govern. It is the legal setup behind every case that follows.
The Board’s 2021 Lawsuit Over the $42 Million Reallocation
In May 2021, the Kansas City Council passed two ordinances shifting roughly $42 million from the police department’s approximately $250 million budget into a newly created “Community Services and Prevention Fund.” Mayor Quinton Lucas said the move was intended to increase accountability and invest in crime prevention. The Board of Police Commissioners was not consulted and refused to accept it, calling the reallocation illegal.3FOX4 Kansas City. Judge Sets Hearing for Police Board’s Lawsuit Over Kansas City Police Funding
The board sued in Jackson County Circuit Court, seeking a writ of mandamus to force the money back. The city responded that the board’s claims were “legally and factually false,” argued that any funding above the state-mandated 20 percent of general revenue was discretionary, and pointed to at least 60 instances since fiscal year 2012 in which it had adjusted the police budget up or down.4FOX4 Kansas City. Legally and Factually False: Kansas City Files Response to Police Board Lawsuit
On October 5, 2021, Judge Patrick Campbell ruled against the city. He found that the council had violated state law by changing the police budget after it was finalized without the board’s permission, noting that Missouri law grants the board “exclusive management and control” of the department and its budgeting process. He ordered the city to restore the $42.2 million.5FOX4 Kansas City. Judge Rules Against Kansas City in Police Funding Lawsuit, Says Changes Violated State Law
Gwen Grant’s Constitutional Challenge to State Control
In September 2021, Gwen Grant, president and CEO of the Urban League of Greater Kansas City, filed a separate suit in Jackson County Circuit Court arguing that the entire system of state control is unconstitutional.6KCUR. Kansas City Police Board Sued for Taxation Without Representation
Grant raised two central claims. First, the structure violates the Missouri Constitution’s Hancock Amendment, which limits state taxing and spending authority, because Kansas City taxpayers are forced to fund a department they cannot control — what her complaint frames as taxation without representation. Second, the system was “implemented and maintained” for the discriminatory purpose of denying African Americans control over policing in a city with a large Black population, in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.7The Kansas City Star. Kansas City Police Board Lawsuit Filed
In June 2022, a Jackson County judge denied the police board’s motion to dismiss, allowing the case to proceed.8Fulton Sun. Lawsuit Over Kansas City Police Control Allowed Grant also moved to intervene in the board’s separate lawsuit against the city, pressing the same Hancock and equal protection arguments on behalf of Kansas City taxpayers.9National Urban League. Civil Rights Leader Seeks Court Action to Intervene in Kansas City Police Lawsuit Against City
Amendment 4, the Missouri Supreme Court, and the Revote
The state legislature answered the city’s budget maneuver by tightening the funding floor. In 2022, the General Assembly passed legislation, championed by Republican Senator Tony Luetkemeyer, raising Kansas City’s minimum police funding from 20 percent to 25 percent of general revenue. The change was estimated to cost the city an additional $64 million.10Missouri Independent. Kansas City Mayor Sues to Block Missouri Law Requiring Higher Police Spending The increase was placed before voters as Amendment 4 in November 2022. It passed statewide with 63 percent of the vote, though Kansas City voters in Jackson County rejected it, 61 to 39 percent.11KCUR. KCPD Police Amendment 4 State Local Control Missouri Constitution
Mayor Lucas sued to block the law, arguing that the Missouri Constitution bars the state from mandating city spending without funding it.10Missouri Independent. Kansas City Mayor Sues to Block Missouri Law Requiring Higher Police Spending On April 30, 2024, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled 4-3 for Lucas and voided the 2022 election. The court found that the ballot’s fiscal note summary — which had said “local governmental entities estimate no additional costs or savings” — was “seriously misleading” given a documented $38.7 million cost to the city, and it called the error an election irregularity “of the highest conceivable magnitude.”12Spectrum Local News. Missouri Kansas City Police Funding
A revote followed with corrected ballot language disclosing the roughly $40 million impact. Amendment 4 passed a second time, 51 to 49 percent.13Bolts Magazine. Kansas City Police Funding Referendum
Misconduct Settlements Draining the Police Budget
Running alongside the governance fights, misconduct payouts have put unusual pressure on department finances. In 2025, KCPD committed to $18.1 million in settlements while having budgeted just $3.5 million for the year.14The Beacon. KCPD Budget Lawsuit Settlements: Kidd, Lamb
The two largest cases were the core of the shortfall. The department agreed to pay $14 million to Ricky Kidd, who was wrongfully imprisoned for 23 years for a double murder he did not commit; the payment is being distributed over four fiscal years.15KSHB. KCPD, Ricky Kidd Reach $14M Settlement in Wrongful Conviction Lawsuit16The Kansas City Star. Eric DeValkenaere Cameron Lamb Case17Missouri Independent. Missouri Governor Commutes Sentence of Former KC Cop Convicted of Killing a Black Man
Other 2025 payouts include $3.5 million to the families of Marcel Nelson and Kristen Fairchild in a 2023 wrongful death case involving former officer Blayne Newton, and $738,000 to former Captain Darrel Bergquist in a suit involving Chief Stacey Graves. KCPD made 36 settlement payments totaling $13.8 million in 2025.18KMBC. KCPD Lawsuit Settlements Budget $10.7 Million19The Kansas City Star. Kansas City Police Lawsuit Settlements
With $2.5 million budgeted for settlements and actual costs more than $8 million higher, Mayor Lucas warned that “$10 million taken out of KCPD starts to hit salaries, starts to hit people.” Chief Graves issued a department memo mandating cuts to overtime, equipment purchases, and clerical hiring. Lucas noted that the board had previously declined to obtain liability insurance, citing a $5 million deductible as too costly, even though recent settlement totals have routinely surpassed that amount.18KMBC. KCPD Lawsuit Settlements Budget $10.7 Million14The Beacon. KCPD Budget Lawsuit Settlements: Kidd, Lamb
The settlement problem loops back to the governance problem. Because the department is governed by the state-appointed board, the city council has no authority to change the policies or procedures behind future misconduct. City officials said they were not informed of the potential for multimillion-dollar payouts during the annual budget process, even though the underlying cases had been filed years earlier.14The Beacon. KCPD Budget Lawsuit Settlements: Kidd, Lamb
The DOJ Hiring Investigation, Now Closed
In September 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division opened an investigation into whether KCPD engaged in a pattern of racial discrimination in hiring, promotions, discipline, and work environment, in violation of Title VII. It was prompted in part by Kansas City Star reporting detailing allegations from at least 25 Black current and former officers describing racist abuse by white supervisors and disproportionate discipline. At the time, 11.6 percent of KCPD officers were Black.20KCUR. Department of Justice Opens Investigation Into Hiring Practices at Kansas City Police Department21The New York Times. Justice Dept. Racial Bias Police
The DOJ stopped requesting information in 2023, and on January 17, 2025, the investigation was officially closed with no findings.22KCPD. Statement Regarding Department of Justice Investigation
Where the Cases Stand Now
Gwen Grant’s civil rights suit challenging the constitutionality of state control remains in litigation, as does her intervention in the board’s case against the city.13Bolts Magazine. Kansas City Police Funding Referendum Advocates for local control view the courts as their most viable path, given that legislation through the Republican-controlled Missouri General Assembly is considered unlikely and a statewide ballot initiative would be prohibitively expensive.1Missouri Independent. State Control of Kansas City’s Police Has Roots in the Civil War
On the settlement side, Mayor Lucas proposed a $17.8 million increase to the KCPD budget in early 2026, including $4 million earmarked for legal settlements. He also introduced Ordinance No. 260065, which would create a “KCPD Overage Fund” to shift settlement costs above the 25 percent budget threshold out of the department’s operating budget and into a city-managed fund, subject to council approval for large payouts. The ordinance is before the Finance, Governance and Public Safety Committee, with its next action scheduled for late June 2026.23KCTV5. KC Mayor Proposes $17M Boost to Police Budget Amid Lawsuit Settlement Shortfall24Kansas City Clerk. Ordinance No. 260065
Kansas City’s police funding has continued to grow, reaching a record $321 million with a 13 percent increase in the current year, even as advocates argue the state-mandated spending floor restricts the city’s ability to invest in mental health services, economic development, and other non-police approaches to public safety.13Bolts Magazine. Kansas City Police Funding Referendum Chief Graves has introduced constitutional policing training, de-escalation programs, and human resources reforms aimed at reducing civil liability going forward.19The Kansas City Star. Kansas City Police Lawsuit Settlements Until Grant’s cases are decided, the underlying question — whether Missouri can require Kansas City to fund a police force it does not control — stays open.