Police chief issues statement
Lamonte McIntyre and Rose Lee McIntyre filed a lawsuit Oct. 11 in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kansas, alleging a former police detective coerced black women into having sex if they did not provide false testimony.
The main focus of the case is a former detective who allegedly coerced women into sexual acts “with threats of arrest or harm to them or their loved ones,” according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges that Lamonte McIntyre was falsely accused of a double murder in 1994 that someone else committed, and that false evidence was fabricated against him.
Named as defendants in the lawsuit were the Unified Government, former Detective Roger Golubski, and many other individuals in the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department, as well as some unnamed persons and supervisors. The estates of some dead police officers also are named in the lawsuit. The lawsuit also alleged that supervisors and colleagues knew about it and did not stop it.
The lawsuit is 51 pages, goes into much detail and asks for a jury trial. It also asks for an unspecified amount of damages.
Lamonte McIntyre was incarcerated for more than 20 years, and was released last year after investigators stated he had been wrongfully imprisoned. The district attorney dropped all charges against McIntyre last year.
Cheryl Pilate, an attorney for Lamonte McIntyre, released this statement:
“Just under a year ago, Lamonte McIntyre was released from prison after 23 years of wrongful confinement for a double homicide he had nothing to do with and knew nothing about. Today, we are taking the next step in seeking justice for Lamonte and his mother, Rose McIntyre. Both Lamonte and Rose believe strongly in addressing the wrongs in the criminal justice system, and, with the lawsuit they now file, they are shining a light on those wrongs. The allegations in the lawsuit speak for themselves. They are very grateful for the love and support they have received over the past year, and they look forward to continuing to return that love to their community.”
Also listed as attorneys for the McIntyres are Michael J. Abrams of Lathrop Gage, and Neufeld Scheck and Brustin of New York.
Kansas City, Kansas, Police Chief Terry Zeigler responded Friday afternoon to the allegations with a video posted on the Police Department’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/KCKPolice/videos/2122547477764913/.
While the lawsuit itself mentions Chief Zeigler as one of the former detective’s partners years ago, Chief Zeigler was not specifically named as a defendant in the lawsuit. Zeigler was not a partner with the detective at the time the homicide in question occurred.
Zeigler’s statement:
“Yesterday, there was a lawsuit filed in federal court against several past sworn members of the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department. I’m personally not a party in that lawsuit, but we have had several media inquiries wanting the Police Department to respond, so that’s what we’re going to do today. But since I’m not a party to the lawsuit, it would be inappropriate for me to speak about any specific allegations mentioned in it. I joined the Police Department in 1990, and I was a four-year officer when the homicide took place that was mentioned in the lawsuit. I began working with Detective Golubski about five years later. The Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department never received any complaint, internally or externally, regarding any of the allegations mentioned in the lawsuit, and therefore, we didn’t investigate it. However, the Kansas City FBI field office has looked into those allegations. When criminal allegations are brought against a member of the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department, the department initiates a criminal investigation through the internal affairs unit, we work the case, and we submit it to the district attorney’s office for prosecution.
“These allegations are 24 years old, and I really don’t want them to detract from the great work that our officers are doing in the community,” Zeigler said. “Our officers are dedicated to providing the best service they can for the citizens of Kansas City, Kansas. They’re involved with programs like the OK program, working with Coronado Middle School kids as they transition to high school, to keep them on a path so that they can graduate. We have the summer cadet program, where we hire 18 high school students and brought them into work with officers for eight weeks, teaching them life skills and exposing them to job opportunities in our community. We also work with the Harvesters and the students at Schlagle High School to distribute food to approximately 150 families in our community that are in need of food. Here next month, we’re going to launch the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Athletic League that will allow our officers to serve as mentors to our young people. But because of the great relationship that we’ve got with our community, and the hard work and dedication of our police officers, we’ve been able to lower crime in our community by 12 percent over the same time period last year. The Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department will continue to build strong relationships with every aspect of our community.”
Edwin Birch, a spokesman for the Unified Government, said the UG has no comment on the case because it is pending litigation.
The case is No. 2:18-cv-02545 in U.S. District Court.