Kansas City officer sues department for violating Missouri Human Rights Act

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – A police officer from Kansas City, Mo. says his superiors instructed him to target minority citizens in traffic stops in an effort to meet ticket quotas

The quotas that are illegal under Missouri law, according to a lawsuit filed one week ago in Jackson County Circuit Court.

KC traffic cop Edward Williams, who is white, says he was punished for raising complaints with his commanders over the so-called ticket quotas and “potentially racially discriminatory” policing practices in predominantly Black and other racial minority neighborhoods.

Williams is a 21-year veteran of the police force.

He alleges his superiors instructed him to “target minority citizens” and says his superiors “constantly” subjected him to “racially inflammatory rhetoric” that was “directed at African American and other citizens.”

He is suing the department for alleged violations of the Missouri Human Rights Act.