Team ROC, the social justice arm of Roc Nation, is championing transparency in the upcoming trial of former Kansas City, Kansas police detective Roger Golubski. Set to begin on December 2, Golubski faces federal charges for exploiting his position to extort and sexually assault Black women and teenagers.

Legal representation procured by Team ROC has filed a motion on behalf of Kansas City media outlets, including The Kansas City Star and KSHB-TV, advocating for journalists’ rights to broadcast the trial. The motion emphasizes the need for First Amendment protections to ensure public confidence in the criminal justice system, particularly given allegations of systemic misconduct within the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department (KCKPD).

This trial is part of a broader investigation into longstanding corruption within the KCKPD. Team ROC asserts, “The citizens of KCK deserve to know that the law enforcement system can protect them.”

“Transparency in trial proceedings is of the utmost importance for the public and to protect the First Amendment rights of the press,” Reed Smith LLP attorneys Jordan Siev and Lara Gatz said. “We believe the Court should grant the request to publicly broadcast the trial, or at a minimum permit the streaming of the trial at the federal courthouse in Kansas City, Kansas. The media should be able to provide real-time updates to the good citizens of KCK about a serious and painful matter involving their community’s police. Broadcasting the trial will prove to all that the justice system is open and fair.”

In a related effort, Team ROC and the Midwest Innocence Project (MIP) filed a lawsuit against the KCKPD and the Unified Government of Wyandotte County for failing to comply with the Kansas Open Records Act (KORA). Despite public records requests submitted in November 2023, the Unified Government has only provided limited documents, falling short of legal obligations.

Both initiatives underscore Team ROC’s commitment to uncovering corruption, holding perpetrators accountable, and fostering reforms within the KCKPD.

For more details, visit kckpdcorruption.info.

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JAY-Z’s Team ROC, the social justice division of JAY-Z’s entertainment company Roc Nation, took out a full-page ad in The Washington Post, calling for the U.S. Department of Justice Associate Attorney General Gupta to investigate the Kansas City, Kansas police department for allegations of rape, murder, sex trafficking, and corruption.

Last month, Team ROC filed a lawsuit against the police department in Kansas City, Kansas. The group is seeking to obtain complaints of alleged misconduct against officers. According to the case, the department has refused to produce documents relating to department members’ internal investigations of wrongdoing.

The lawsuit named former police chief Terry Ziegler and his former partner, Roger Golubski, as perpetrators of alleged misconduct and abiding by the “blue code of silence.”

“The KCKPD is entrusted by the public to help maintain peace in the community. Yet, for years, it appears that officers have abused their power and engaged in wrongdoing,” the lawsuit stated. “To the extent that the KCKPD did not take any steps to remediate these issues, the public should have a right to know so they can organize and take appropriate steps to effect change.”

“Allowing the public to obtain information about the scope and scale of the misconduct within the KCKPD will help ensure that the KCKPD is subject to scrutiny and oversight by the community that it is supposed to protect and defend,” the lawsuit stated.

In the full-page letter, Team ROC writes, “racism and corruption have led to one of the worst examples of abuse of power in U.S. history” and describes how “the abuse appears to be widespread and systematic.”

You can see the full-page ad here.

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