Photo Courtesy of Kansas City Star
A Black Kansas City police sergeant sued his department for an incident involving two colleagues in 2021 who allegedly falsely accused him of misconduct.
Sgt. Herb Robinson is a 30-year veteran of the Kansas City Police Department. The veteran law enforcement agent was pulled over while driving an unmarked police car in uniform in March 2021.
According to the Kansas City Star, Robinson was racially profiled when he was pulled
over by white officer Cole Modeer and a Hispanic officer Marco Olivas.In the dashcam video, Robinson is seen getting out of the car. The officers made racially hostile and derogatory remarks toward Robinson. They can be heard calling Robinson a “dumbass” and a “retard.”
“No reasonable person would behave in the manner defendants acted toward plaintiff as defendants’ conduct could be deemed outrageous, intolerable and extreme,” according to the petition.
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In his lawsuit filed in Jackson County Circuit Court, Robinson accused the officers of false imprisonment and the intention to inflict emotional distress and assault.
“Defendants Modeer and Olivas intended to put Plaintiff in apprehension of serious bodily injury by yelling and cursing at Plaintiff while approaching him in an aggressive manner.”
His lawyer wrote that the officers allegedly conspired to falsely accuse Robinson of misconduct and other violations by issuing inaccurate statements about the traffic stop.
Gerald Gray, an attorney representing Robinson, said, “If they treat one of their own this way, I’m afraid to see how they are treating minorities who are not cops.”
Robinson believes he would not have been pulled over if he was white and expressed the fear and anxiety he felt from the unjustified stop.
“I’m like that deer in the headlights,” Robinson said. “My heart’s racing and pounding. I’m like, what are you going to do next?”
Hear his full story about the encounter: