Cop Sues City Over Secret Deal for Ex-Chief

0:00It's May 1st. Welcome in. This is Kansas News Today, where local news meets AI. A senior cop in Independence, Missouri, major Mike Onka, a 25-year veteran, just dropped a civil lawsuit claiming city bosses cut a secret. Deal to keep ex-police chief Adam Dustman on the payroll even after he quit. Filed April 28 in Jackson County Circuit Court, it accuses leaders of hiding damaging details about the chief. This is one of multiple suits from current officers this year, spotlighting an undisclosed resignation pack from August that lets Dustman keep caching. Checks. Aka says former city manager Zach Walker signed off on it, shifting Dustman to a spot in the city manager's office without counsel OK or following. State contract rules. Onka had filed an internal complaint against Dustman over a policy violating trip to Washington DC on May 16th, 2025. After that in helping probe another officer's retaliation claim, Onka faced blowback like, with held critical info, turning his workplace hostile, and testing loyalties across the force.

1:06The suit alleges the deal was meant to bury info, tying Walker to police mismanagement, letting Dustman still pull strings on department policy, and employee actions. It fractured leadership, slowed operations, and left the team dysfunctional at times. With no word from city officials or those named, these lawsuits keep piling up, exposing debriefs in how the department runs and hinting at more. Fall out of head.