Judge orders KC police to turn over money to state

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A Jackson County judge has ordered the Kansas City Police Department to turn over $4.2 million in money and property to the state treasury.

The funds have accumulated from stolen or abandoned money and property collected by police. The property includes items taken during robberies or burglaries.

The ruling Wednesday by Circuit Judge Thomas C. Clark resolved a lawsuit filed by Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon.

"I am pleased to have this matter resolved," Nixon said in a statement. The police board "has a statutory and constitutional duty to distribute the money to the proper agency, and it is appropriate that the judge has clarified that obligation for the board."

Most of the $4.2 million will be sent to the treasury and go into the state's general fund. About $161,000 will be retained by the police board for one to three years in case the rightful owners or county governments claim some of the property.

Dale Close, legal counsel for the police department, said Friday that the department had no problem turning the money over to the treasury. Close said the issue before the court was to determine where state statutes required the money to go.