Woman files discrimination lawsuit after alleging wrongful detainment by Kansas City Police

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Elaine McAlister has filed a lawsuit against Kansas City, Missouri and two of its airport officers accusing them of false arrest, racial discrimination and harassment.

McAlister, a 31-year-old nurse, said she was wrongfully detained for several days, and even after showing proof they had the wrong person, they still locked her up in a Platte County jail.

She says she’s now forever changed by the horrific incident.

Elaine McAlister’s lawsuit

The lawsuit filed in Platte County, Missouri, on Jan. 31 by the Holman Schiavone law firm in Kansas City, details the horrowing events.

On Oct. 14, 2023, McAlister was at the Kansas City International Airport, headed to Montego Bay, Jamaica. But the trip would be uprooted.

Arrest

According to the lawsuit, McAlister was put into handcuffs after being approached by two airport police officers and a customs and border patrol agent.

McAlister was informed that she was being arrested on an outstanding warrant regarding a marijuana charge in Kansas.

Elaine McAlister (Credit: Kansas City Airport)

But she wasn’t the woman they were looking for.

Authorities matched her identity to a woman, who’d taken her driver license and used it in an incident where she was pulled over in August 2023.

A driver’s license McAlister hadn’t been able to find for months. The imposter didn’t resemble her, except for one factor, both are Black women.

Her friend sees the mug shot that the officers are using and she tells them they have the wrong woman.

But those arguments are not heard. Even though the tattoos that the imposter had did not match McAlister’s, she was still put in the Platte County Jail for four nights.

“It is obvious to any reasonable person, let alone a law enforcement officer, that the person in the Johnson County, Kansas booking photograph has no similarity to Plaintiff other than also appearing to be a Black/African-American female,” the claim states.

Elaine McAlister was finally released

McAlister was eventually released and cleared, but the lawsuit states she’s suffered from severe anxiety and fear, and she is looking for compensation from the city for this damaging experience, the trip missed, attorney fees and more.

She’s also demanding a jury trial.

The amount McAlister is seeking was not publicly announced.