Wichita is poised to settle a lawsuit challenging police gang list. Here’s what it means

The city of Wichita is poised to settle a lawsuit brought by Kansas Appleseed and the ACLU of Kansas that contended the Wichita Police Department’s gang list is unconstitutional.

Last fall, a federal judge granted class-action status to the 5,245 people on the gang list.

If City Council members approve the settlement Tuesday, Wichita will pay $550,000 in legal fees and costs.

The mediated agreement would not require Wichita to destroy its gang list as plaintiffs initially called for. Instead, a judge would appoint a special master to oversee its ongoing use by the police department for three years at an additional cost of $75,000 to the city.

“This mediated agreement narrows and clarifies the criteria the Wichita Police Department can use to place a person on the gang list/database, with increased oversight on the gang list/database process to review when and how someone can be listed,” the agenda report states. City documents do not elaborate on how the process for placing someone on the gang list would change.

The police department would also be required to create a method for members of the public to check if they are included on the gang list/database, and an appeal mechanism for if they think that designation is incorrect.

Teresa Woody, a lawyer for Kansas Appleseed, declined to comment on the settlement until after Tuesday’s vote.

Sixty percent of people on the gang list are Black and 25% are Hispanic, while only 6% are white. Lawyers for the plaintiffs argue the list disproportionately targets racial minorities.

Under current city policy, police have broad discretion to decide who gets placed on the list. The suit argues that people can be identified as a gang member or gang associate based on arbitrary factors such as where they live, what color clothing they wear, where they shop or buy gas and who they are photographed with.

Once on the list, members are subjected to intense police scrutiny, frequent stops and searches over minor traffic infractions, minimum $50,000 bail if charged with a violent crime and longer sentences in higher-security prisons if convicted.

The police department’s gang list includes 1,728 active gang members, 3,296 inactive gang members and 221 gang associates.

“The settlement of this claim does not constitute an admission of liability on the part of the City; rather, it is merely a settlement to resolve disputed claims,” the agenda report states.

The suit was filed in 2021 by Kansas Appleseed and the ACLU of Kansas lawyers on behalf of Progeny, a nonprofit juvenile justice organization, and individual plaintiffs Christopher Cooper, Elbert Costello, Martel Costello and Jeremy Levy, Jr. Federal Judge Eric Melgren granted class-action status for gang list members in October.

“What this means is that we can go forward as a class, to represent the rights of everybody that’s on the gang list,” Woody said at the time.

“That means if we’re successful, the relief we’re asking for — which is basically to change or modify the procedures for getting on the gang list to meet constitutional muster — would apply to everyone on the gang list.”

This story was originally published April 5, 2024 at 1:53 PM.