Judge: Kansas City’s plan to divert police funds was illegal

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri judge has ruled that Kansas City officials violated state law when they moved toward shifting 18% of the police department’s budget into community services. Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Patrick Campbell sided Tuesday with a five-member state board overseeing the police department’s budget and operations. The Kansas City Star reported that the police board’s lawsuit over funding argued that once the City Council determined in March how much to allocate to the department, it couldn’t change it later under state law. The City Council voted in May to shift $42.3 million into a special fund that could be used for community services.