Jay-Z’s Team ROC Challenges Dismissal in KCKPD Abuse Lawsuit

Jay-Z's social justice initiative, Team ROC, along with nine civil rights and advocacy groups including the Innocence Project, has filed an amicus brief challenging the dismissal of a federal civil rights lawsuit against Kansas City, Kansas, and Wyandotte County. The lawsuit was originally brought by five Black women who allege they were stalked, assaulted, raped, harassed, and extorted by former KCKPD detective Roger Golubski and other law enforcement officers, with the local government accused of enabling this abuse. The case was dismissed on statute of limitations grounds, as the women filed the suit years after the alleged abuse occurred, but Team ROC and allies argue that the statute should begin after Golubski's death by suicide in December 2024, since the victims feared retribution while he was alive. They contend that pausing the statute of limitations is necessary to prevent manifest injustice and to hold wrongdoers accountable in cases of systemic abuse and government cover-ups. The groups emphasize that a ruling in favor of the plaintiffs could set a significant national precedent for addressing institutional misconduct and protecting vulnerable communities from police abuse. They urge the appellate court to reverse the dismissal and allow the women to pursue their claims in federal court.