Kansas City Police Agree To Stop 'Banishment Orders' In Protester Settlement

OR . . . Here's another reason why RETAIL is dead in Kansas City and activists now have more freedom to chase away biz from the embattled Country Club Plaza.

A quick peek at the debate . . .

“If the right to free speech means anything, it means that citizens have the right to take to the streets to voice their objections to government overreach without fear of retaliation,” Tony Rothert, Legal Director of the ACLU of Missouri, said in a statement. “Here some police officers did not like criticism and responded by abusing their authority.”

Donna Drake, a spokeswoman for the police department, said in an email that the department was "grateful" for the opportunity to work with the ACLU and has made "adjustments and changes to include our new First Amendment policy."

"KCPD continues to work hard to support the First Amendment rights of the citizens of Kansas City," she said.

Read more . . .

Protester Banished From The Plaza Settles Lawsuit Against Kansas City Police

A woman who was banished from the Country Club Plaza after she was arrested last year during police brutality protests has settled her lawsuit against the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners. Under the settlement, Kansas City police have agreed to end their use of banishment orders, which protester Theresa Taylor had challenged as unconstitutional.