
Peggy Lowe
Public Safety, Justice and Investigative ReporterAs KCUR’s public safety and justice reporter, I put the people affected by the criminal justice system front and center, so you can learn about different perspectives through empathetic, contextual and informative reporting. My investigative work shines a light on often secretive processes, countering official narratives and exposing injustices.
Email me at lowep@kcur.org.
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The death of Charles Adair, 50, which has been ruled a homicide, was due to a common police procedure called prone restraint. "This is in the hands of the law officers," a medical expert said.
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Wyandotte County Jail inmate died after a sheriff's officer knelt on his back, coroner's report saysCharles Adair, 50, was killed by “mechanical asphyxia,” which was ruled a homicide. A county coroner’s report obtained by KCUR reveals that during an altercation, a deputy knelt on Adair’s back.
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In a federal filing, 10 women claim they suffered seizures due to the stifling heat in a facility once described as “a wood-fired pizza oven.” They say they were also forced to stand in raw sewage because of plumbing problems and were not given basic needs, like underwear or menstrual products.
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Officer Hunter Simoncic, 26, is the second line-of-duty death in Wyandotte County in a month. A 31-year-old suspect was arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder, vehicular homicide and other allegations, according to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.
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Two men were killed and another two people were shot over the weekend in a lot near the Power & Light District owned by Copaken Brooks, a commercial real estate firm. Mayor Quinton Lucas said Monday that private lot owners should be required to have $1 million insurance policies, security and surveillance cameras.
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Trust in the criminal justice system in Wyandotte County has been tainted by the actions of disgraced former KCKPD detective Roger Golubski. In an interview with KCUR's Up To Date, District Attorney Mark Dupree defended his office's review of past cases, and sought to dispel rumors about Golubski's suicide.
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District Attorney Mark Dupree said he saw Golubski’s body, and the “evidence is clear” that the former Kansas City, Kansas, Police detective killed himself. Dupree also defended his long-troubled conviction integrity unit, said he believes there may be more cases of innocent men in prison and that he has hired a new director of the unit.
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Braisen Cain, 42, is the city’s 18th victim of intimate partner violence so far this year, a significant increase from last year. Experts say cases are growing more violent, with survivors reporting an escalation of threats like use of guns and strangulation.
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Last November, Missouri voters approved a measure that raised the minimum wage and allowed employees to earn paid sick leave. But state lawmakers have ensured that in less than a month, the sick leave requirement is going away.
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There’s a community of collectors, artists and kids keeping the marble culture alive in Bonner Springs, Kansas. Plus: A lucky pig in eastern Kansas managed to cheat death after jumping off a truck transporting it to a feedlot.