Wichita Police Department's 'Gang List' leads to $550,000 settlement for unconstitutional violations

The City of Wichita has agreed to settle a lawsuit on Tuesday regarding the Wichita Police Department’s (WPD’s) Gang List. The class-action lawsuit, Progeny v. City of Wichita, was filed against the city in April of 2021 by the ACLU of Kansas and Kansas Appleseed, challenging the use of the WPD’s Gang List.

According to the ACLU of Kansas, members of the Wichita community could be placed on the Gang List without ever committing or being charged with a criminal offense. According to the complaint, criteria to be included in the List are “vague and broad and encompass a wide range of innocuous, innocent, and constitutionally protected behavior.”

A number of things that were noted that could land a person on the List include the color of a person’s clothing, where a person chooses to hang out, or who a person is photographed with.

In an article from the ACLU of Kansas regarding the case, they state:

“Police officers within the WPD’s Gang Unit routinely exercise unilateral and virtually unchecked power to designate individual Wichita residents as ‘gang members’ or ‘gang associates’ based on scant and unreliable evidence, or, indeed, no evidence at all. Their policies do not require that a person be convicted of a crime, charged with a crime, or even suspected of being involved in criminal activity in order to be designated as a gang member.”

The lawsuit asserted that the practices and policies disproportionately targeted individuals of color and violated First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights.

“Though only 7.5 percent of Wichita’s population is Black, Black residents comprise over 50 percent of the Gang List,” the ACLU of Kansas wrote in their article. “Latinx individuals make up nearly 30 percent of the List, yet only account for 14.1 percent of Wichita’s population. Despite making up nearly 68 percent of Wichita’s population, less than 14 percent of those on the Gang List are white. As of May 2022, the Gang List included at least 5,507 individuals.”

It was further noted that simply associating with other people on the Gang List could get you put on the List and that you would not be given notice of being added to the List nor due process. The Gang List, nor the list of places considered “gang territory” are not publicly available either, and there is no way to challenge one’s listing nor a way to request an individual’s removal from the List.

“People on WPD’s Gang List find it difficult to participate in regular aspects of life, including seeing friends or loved ones,” the ACLU of Kansas noted. “People on the List cannot be seen with other people on the List, or visit certain businesses or neighborhoods that WPD has classified as gang territory.”

After the unanimous vote from the City Council, Mayor of Wichita Lily Wu took to social media to announce the decision:

“The City Council voted, 7-0, to approve a $550,000 settlement with Progeny, program of Destination Innovations, Inc., Christopher Cooper, Elbert Costello, Martel Costello, and Jeremy Levy, Jr. regarding the Wichita Police Department‘s Gang Database. (United States District Court Case No. 21-CV-01100),” Wu wrote.

The settlement further narrows and clarifies criteria the WPD can use in order to put someone on the Gang List and increases oversight on the Gang List process to review when and how someone may be listed by a third-party. Furthermore, members of the community will be able to check and see if they are on the list and there will also be an appeal process if a person believes their designation is incorrect. There will also be an elimination of the “gang associates” and “inactive” gang member categories as well as a mandatory notification process for those added to the Gang List. On top of this, the City is to pay an additional $75,000 for a special master who will be engaged for a three-year period. The plaintiffs are to receive a lump sum of $550,000 for the settlement.

“This settlement is a victory for the residents of Wichita, and especially for our clients, whose courage drove our work,” Litigation Director for Kansas Appleseed Teresa Woody said. “Fighting for what’s right is never easy, but they took on the heavy responsibility of joining a lawsuit, which included enduring heightened scrutiny, because they wanted to see the system changed. Their unwavering commitment to this lawsuit, and the strength and dedication they demonstrated, means that others in the community, especially young people, do not have the threat of criminal street gang identification hanging over them just for going about their daily lives.”

The ACLU of Kansas noted a number of different ways inclusion on the Gang List caused harm for people including “enhanced bail, stricter pretrial release, probation, and parole conditions, limited plea opportunities, introduction of extremely prejudicial evidence at criminal trials, widespread reputational harm, chilling of associative and assembly activities, and limitation or loss of housing and employment opportunities.”

“We’re extremely gratified that the City has recognized the need to reform the WPD’s deeply problematic and unconstitutional Gang List practices, and we cannot overstate the real-life consequences for every person that has been affected by this List,” said Kunyu Ching, Staff Attorney for the ACLU of Kansas. “Our First and Fourteenth Amendment rights are fundamental—we have a right to come together for social and political purposes, and we have a right to know when the government subjects us to negative legal consequences and to challenge those actions. These reforms bring about much needed clarity, transparency, and accountability to practices that have overwhelmingly targeted Wichita’s communities of color.”

“We are thankful that all parties were able to come to the table and try to mitigate the devastating impact that the Gang List has on so many people and families in the Wichita community,” said Marquetta Atkins, Executive Director of Progeny and Destination Innovation, Inc.. “Our organization has worked for years directly in our community to research and understand the full scope of harm caused by this database—and this is a crucial step in the relationship between our neighborhoods and the police department.”

Before the reforms can go into full effect, the court must approve the parties’ settlement.