KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – A California woman is suing KCPD’s governing body, claiming that an on-duty officer’s high-speed crash left her with permanent injuries.
Jackson County, Missouri, Circuit Court records filed on Monday, Oct. 20, indicate that a lawsuit was filed against the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners.
The suit, which also names Mayor Quinton Lucas, was filed by the Beam-Ward, Kruse, Wilson & Fletes law firm on behalf of Rowania Townsend, a 63-year-old woman from Van Nuys, California.
The petition revealed that just before 8:45 p.m. on Sept. 28, 2024, Townsend was the passenger of a car that was hit by a KCPD patrol vehicle.
The crash, which was reported near 27th and Cleveland Ave., allegedly caused anguishing head, neck, back, chest, leg, shoulder and hip injuries Townsend will have to endure for the rest of her life.
According to the suit, Officer Jacob Scroggins, who was driving the patrol vehicle, negligently sped through the intersection, which was controlled with four red flashing lights and stop signs.
The complaint claims that Scroggins should have stopped, swerved, slowed down or sounded a warning to avoid the crash, but failed to do so.
The lawsuit also alleged that Scroggins had been traveling at a speed that made it impossible for him to stop within his range of visibility.
Now, Townsend and her lawyers have demanded a jury trial to decide if the Board of Police Commissioners should pay for her damages and by how much.
Court documents noted that the Missouri Attorney General’s Office was served a copy of the petition on Tuesday. A case management conference has been set for 9 a.m. on Feb. 9, 2026.
KCTV5 has reached out to the Board of Police Commissioners, the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department and the Kansas City Mayor’s Office for a statement and continues to await a reply.
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