KC POLICE ORDERED TO TURN OVER TO STATE $4.2 MILLION IN MONEY, PROPERTY

A Jackson County judge has ordered that $4.2 million in money and property
held by the Kansas City Police Department must be turned over to the state
treasury.

The funds have accumulated from stolen or abandoned money and property
collected by police. The property includes items taken during robberies or
burglaries.

The funds do not include money that was seized under state or federal
forfeiture acts. Forfeited money, usually seized in drug cases, has been
the subject of controversy when it has been retained by law enforcement
agencies instead of being used for education.

Dale Close, legal counsel for the Police Department, said Friday that he
had not seen the ruling but that the department had no problem turning the
money over to the treasury. Close said the issue before the court was to
determine where the money properly should go, according to state statutes.

The ruling Wednesday by Circuit Judge Thomas C. Clark stemmed from a
lawsuit filed by Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon.

"I am pleased to have this matter resolved," Nixon said in a statement.
"The (police) board has a statutory and constitutional duty to distribute
the money to the proper agency, and it is appropriate that the judge has
clarified that obligation for the board."

Most of the $4.2 million will be sent directly to the treasury and go into
the state's general fund. About $161,000 will be retained by the police
board for one to three years in case the rightful owners or county
governments make a claim on it.