Appeals Court Cuts $6.5M Award to Officer

A Missouri appeals court threw out most of a $6.5 million judgment awarded to a former Kansas City police officer after he was fired.

Danny Holmes received the $6.5 million judgment after he alleged in a lawsuit that he was fired because of racial discrimination, breach of contract and whistleblower violations.

On Tuesday, a three-judge panel of the Western District Court of Appeals reduced the award to $500,000 in actual and punitive damages. The court said a Jackson County jury was correct when it found the fact that Holmes is black contributed to his firing.

The Kansas City Star reports the appeals court ruled Holmes’ whistleblower claim was barred by sovereign immunity, and that Holmes did not have a contractual right to sue for wrongful termination.