KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Multiple organizations teamed together Monday to rally for justice in front of the federal courthouse in Topeka.
Groups including ACLU, MORE2, Mothers of Incarcerated Sons and Daughters, It’s Time 4 Justice and Revolución Educativa put out a flyer calling for supporters to “stand with women” and “rally for justice.”
The rally was scheduled for Monday to coincide with the first day of the federal trial of former Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department Det. Roger Golubski.
“The leaders will be rallying to denounce the system of policing, which protected Golubski at the expense of community safety,” a MORE2 spokesperson shared in a news release. “Golubski is accused of many heinous acts while operating as a police officer in Kansas City, Kansas, over the course of three decades. He has been accused of rape, wrongful incarceration, and more.”
Some supporters, including faith leaders, boarded a bus in KCK at Rainbow Mennonite Church and rode down together to the rally.
Once outside the courthouse, rally-goers formed a semi-circle as speakers commenced.
But after the group was told Golubski didn’t show up to the jury selection, one woman said she knew what that meant.
“This is like years of work have led up to this,” she said. “And we’re not surprised. We knew he was a coward.”
Authorities later confirmed Golubski was found dead at his Edwardsville, Kansas, home. No foul play is suspected.
Rally-goers expressed they would like a thorough investigation into Golubski’s death.
"... We cannot stress enough that the department that allowed Golubski to flourish as a criminal while acting as a detective should not be the ones to declare him dead or determine the cause of death. We believe nothing short of an outside, independent investigation, with an autopsy, is in order," Lora McDonald, MORE2 executive director, shared in a statement. "Golubski terrorized an entire community and co-conspired with dangerous people. A thorough investigation is in order."
McDonald went on in her statement to explain the rally was greater than Golubski, it was "about the department in which his criminal activity flourished."
"Our rally in Topeka was about KCKPD. To date, that department has not denounced the actions of Golubski. They have not apologized to his victims. They have not said one word about the cases he never investigated or about the people who are wrongfully incarcerated behind his practices," McDonald said. "The department, nor the Unified Government of Kansas City, Kansas and Wyandotte County, has not done one single thing, in policy, practice, or even in words, to demonstrate that they protect and serve the public, versus protecting themselves and serving their own interests."
Others at the rally, like Madella Henderson, want the public to unite around the survivors of Golubski's alleged behavior. She said it's up to people like her who've interacted with Golubski to set an example of what they expect from the police department.
“You have to become role models," she implored other survivors. "You have to work with [children] to let them know they will have a secure future here in Wyandotte County anyway.”
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