Protester escorted out, placed in handcuffs after incident at city meeting to discuss Royals downtown stadium agreement
KANSAS CITY, Mo. —
Tensions boiled over at the Kansas City Finance Committee Meeting Tuesday as the public met with city officials to discuss public financing of the new Kansas City Royals downtown ballpark.
Members of the public were each given two minutes to speak while the committee discussed an ordinance that, if passed, would authorize the City Manager to execute a lease, non-relocation agreement, community impact partnership agreement, and funding agreement with the Kansas City Royals for the proposed stadium near Crown Center.
During the meeting, individuals with the group Stand Up KC were seen standing in the committee room in protest of the public financing portion of the agreement.
Video shows one individual in a red shirt shout comments about justice during the meeting. When security intervened and attempted to escort the individual out of the room, a struggle ensued.
That struggle continued into the hallway outside of the city council chamber. KMBC 9 News Reporter Krista Tatschl watched as the individual was wrestled to the ground and placed into handcuffs.
Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Quinton Lucas exited the chambers during the struggle. Krista Tatschl caught up with him in the hallway. He told KMBC 9 News that he hoped public comment could continue and that cooler heads could prevail.
This is not the first time tempers have flared at a meeting discussing the new Kansas City Royals stadium. A meeting in July ended early after repeated disruptions.
Less than an hour later, the measure passed out of committee unanimously and will head to the full City Council on September 3.