KANSAS CITY (AP) — Kansas City officials have advanced a measure that would drop misdemeanor charges against those who took part in peaceful street protests to decry racial injustice and police brutality following the police-involved killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
The City Council is considering legislation offered by Councilman Brandon Ellington to prevent many protesters from being prosecuted, as long as they didn’t commit a violent crime or damage property, the Kansas City Star reported. The council’s Special Committee on Legal Review voted 3-1 on Tuesday to advance the legislation. The full City Council is expected to hear the proposal next week.
More than 220 people who took to the streets from May 29 through June 2 were arrested, officials have said. Ellington’s proposal would bar the city from prosecuting those who were arrested during the protests under city laws that deal with such minor offenses as disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace, defacing property, creating a nuisance, trespassing and loitering.
Supporters of the ordinance say police incited unrest by showing up in riot gear, pepper spraying the crowd and deploying tear gas.
Sheri Hall, who testified Tuesday in favor of the ordinance, said she saw that most protesters were peaceful and tried to discourage more violent conduct.
“When you have people militarized against you, it raises the tension of everybody in the room,” she said. “People were in riot gear, and there was no riot.”
Opponents of the proposal say the move could encourage lawlessness. Brad Lemon, president of the local police union, said it could also set a bad precedent.
“When we start talking about changing these arrests and changing how we handle these, down the road when there’s a subject out here that you don’t like and individuals that you don’t support come out and start protesting, what are you going to do about those arrests?” Lemon said.