KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The next step in the fight over Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department funding will take place in September.
During a conference call Thursday morning between the KCPD Board of Police Commissioners and KCMO Mayor Quinton Lucas, a hearing was scheduled for 9 a.m. Sept. 1.
The BOPC filed a lawsuit against Lucas and the city after the KCMO City Council approved in May the reallocation of roughly $42 million from police to a newly created Community Services and Prevention Fund.
Lucas has contended that the reallocation increases accountability and could allow for more crime prevention measures, while others consider the move defunding the police.
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All Northland council members were opposed to the measures, which were approved the same day they were introduced. Dan Fowler, Kevin O'Neill, Heather Hall and Teresa Loar said in May that they were not aware of the ordinances until Lucas announced them.
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt was among those who sided with the BOPC, likening the reallocation to defunding KCPD.
In June, the city released a statement saying the BOPC lawsuit was “without merit” and “legally and factually false.”
Additionally, a stay order issued in June related to the BOPC’s lawsuit has been extended through Oct. 15.
