Settlement changing criteria, adding oversight to Wichita Police Department’s ‘gang list’

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH)—The color of someone’s clothes, the events they attend, and the people they hang out with can no longer be reasons to add them to the Wichita Police Department’s “gang list.”

On Tuesday, the Wichita City Council approved a settlement that changes criteria, adding oversight to the list.

The groups behind the lawsuit connected with the “gang list” said the settlement would provide constitutional and procedural protections. It means stricter criteria for a name to go on the list, allows people to see if they’re on the gang list and have an appeals process to get off of that list.

The city council’s motion to approve the $625,000 settlement passed unanimously, 7-0. Beyond the dollar amount, the settlement will bring changes to practices, policies and oversight in the Wichita Police Department.

“This really falls in line with the direction I was hoping we would go,” Wichita City Councilmember Brandon Johnson said. He added, “This is an opportunity for transparency, so if you’re someone who has been concerned about being on the Gang File. There were four areas you could be on; you could even be deceased on it, but active, inactive and associate. This is an opportunity for folks to figure that out.”

Johnson has been working to address the issue surrounding the gang list since before he was elected to the council. He remembers that in 2017, some changes were made to how juveniles on the list were handled, which added notification of parents or guardians.

“If you find out your child is on the Gang File, you can reach out to your pastor or mentors in the community. That was one of the more powerful things that we did,” said Johnson. “That’s why I asked the questions today, will we be notifying people that they’re on that so that they can take active steps to show, if they’re not in gang activity, to let our police department know that’s no longer their life.”

“We have an opportunity to try to help folks in that way who have been identified, get off the Gang File,” he said. “Maybe it relieves some of the stress, pressure, or questions that they had.”

The federal lawsuit, filed in 2021, says the WPD’s use of the “gang list” was unconstitutional and discriminatory.

“There are so many consequences of being included on the gang list. First and foremost, there’s an automatic $50,000 bail if you are charged with a person felony,” said ACLU of Kansas Staff Attorney Kunyu Ching. “And you’re on the list, even if those charges have nothing whatsoever to do with gangs or gang activity. You could be subject to stricter bond, probation or parole conditions.”

She added, “It is absolutely huge from a civil rights standpoint. One of our biggest claims in this case was the lack of procedural due process. Once WPD added you to the list, you had no idea of knowing until the day you were charged with a crime.”

When class action was sought last year, court records show 5,245 persons were on the gang list -1,728 active gang members, 3,296 inactive gang members, and 221 gang associates. They are predominantly Black or Hispanic. People on the list often don’t know that they are unless they’re charged with a crime.

“Over half the people who are now on the ‘gang list’ will be automatically removed because they’re either inactive or deemed associates rather than actual gang members,” said Kansas Appleseed Litigation Director Teresa Woody.

12 News spoke with the ACLU of Kansas, Kansas Appleseed and Progeny, three of the groups behind the lawsuit concerning the “gang list.”

The Gang List has been in effect since 2010 following a state law. The lawsuit said WPD policy and practice of the gang list had broad criteria that allowed people to be added with little to no evidence of gang involvement.

Woody said, “The Wichita Police Department is one of the primary users in the state of this gang database, and I say users and have in the past been abusers of it.”

One of their main concerns was the impact on youth and young adults.

“As they start to evolve and grow up, people should have to ability to change, and this ‘gang list’ kept people tied to being a gang member for the rest of their lives, and that’s unfair,” said Destination Innovation/Progeny Executive Director Marquetta Atkins-Woods. “In Progeny, we always say our stories are bigger than the box you try to put us in, and this has liberated young people and, in particular, black and brown people from being put into those boxes.”

The settlement will narrow the criteria the WPD uses to add someone to the list, including where officers need to witness someone with a known gang member two or more times while criminal gang activity is happening.

Woody said, “One of the parts of the settlement that we are really excited about is the treatment of juveniles who may be put on the list. Now, if they’re 13-17, the Wichita Police Department has an obligation to notify their parents or guardians and, in effect, try to create a diversion agreement to give them an opportunity to not be put on the list in the first place.”

The City of Wichita said before the lawsuit was filed, work was beginning to re-evaluate the criteria.

The WPD is developing a process in which someone can check their status on the gang list, see the file the police department has on them and appeal being on the list. Most of the money in the settlement goes to the plaintiffs and attorney fees, but $75,000 will cover the third party to provide oversight.

The case was slated to go to trial next month. The city said finalizing the settlement does not constitute an admission of liability.

In a statement from the City of Wichita: This mediated agreement narrows and clarifies the criteria the Wichita Police Department can use to place a person on the gang list/database, with increased oversight on the gang list/database process to review when and how someone can be listed. In addition, the WPD will create a method for members of the public to check and see if they are included on the gang list/database and an appeal process if the person believes their designation is incorrect. This mediated agreement is intended to protect the constitutional rights of the citizens of Wichita and allow law enforcement to conduct effective investigations for public safety.

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