Unified Government of Wyandotte County/KCK

Development in recent years has transformed the county's west side. And though the county still sees many challenges, especially to the east, community stakeholders are optimistic about paths to the future.

Brian Betts, 46, says he was wrongfully convicted thanks to disgraced former KCKPD Detective Roger Golubski. Today Betts will call for new leadership of the local criminal justice system.

District Attorney Mark Dupree said Amaree’ya Henderson refused the officer’s commands to stop his car, which caught the officer in between the driver’s door and Henderson. Kansas law allows the use of deadly force if an officer is in danger and fears for his life, Dupree said.

KCK’s chief of police and the county district attorney are Black men. After years of police corruption, residents are hopeful — but worried — about how they'll handle a fatal police shooting.

The federal public health emergency over COVID, declared in 2020, came to an end on May 11. Health officials say the expiration of the order means that vaccines and tests are no longer being provided free from the federal government.

Police say the Black family who reported the white officer’s odd behavior refused to cooperate during an internal affairs investigation. An attorney for the family says police have been driving by their house and parking across the street in an effort to scare them.

Brian Betts’ case was much like that of Lamonte McIntyre, another KCK man who says he was framed by former KCK Police Detective Roger Golubski. But McIntyre was exonerated in 2017, while Betts served out most of his 25-year sentence.

Leejamahl A. Washington alleges retaliation for his testimony in the trial of Jyan Harris, a former KCKFD firefighter who won a $2.3 million discrimination case in 2021.

The family of John Keith Calvin, 56, who died Wednesday of colon cancer, believes he was framed by former KCKPD detective Roger Golubski, who was also connected to their sister, Rose.

A Kansas City, Kansas, man said an officer who responded to his home was “high as a kite.” That officer is now on leave and KCKPD says a medical condition may have factored in the officer's behavior.

Candice Alcaraz, 32, an assistant district attorney, beat a sitting judge to make history in Wyandotte County.

Unified Government Commissioners approved a measure that will let them have more say in what ordinances make it to a vote. Mayor Tyrone Garner said the move amounted to "political backstabbing."