A Missouri judge ruled on Tuesday that the Kansas City Council was in violation of state law for reallocating millions of dollars away from the city's police department.
According to KMBC, Mayor Quinton Lucas and the City Council in May sought to reduce the Kansas City Police Department's budget by $42.3 million. The same month, the Kansas City police board filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the ordinances to remove funding.
According to The Hill, the funding pulled was to be used for community programs to prevent crime.
But a Jackson County judge ruled that the ordinances used to pull the funding were an overstep of the City Council's authority. The judge subsequently ordered that the funding be returned to the police department.
"Today, a Jackson County Judge sided with the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners and the Attorney General's Office and struck down Kansas City's illegal attempt to defund the police," a press release from Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt's office read.
"This is a huge win for the people of Kansas City and law enforcement officers who work every single day to keep their communities safe."
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