Video: Stolen “Checkpoint Ahead” Sign Recovered from KCPD

By Michael Mikkelsen

This video was shot at 3:15 in the morning on Aug 7th. About an hour earlier I was a mile down the highway holding a “Checkpoint Ahead” sign at the onramp to Interstate 70 in front of the KC Star building at Truman Rd and McGee when a KCPD Officer in a white marked police van stole my sign.

Officer Stewart observed me holding my sign and waving at passing cars for at lease 10 minutes, so she saw that people were waving back and that there was obvious public interest for the politically protected speech that I was providing to the community.

She turned on the light bar of her van and pulled up next to the sidewalk that I was holding my sign on.

She got out of the vehicle and approached me asking what I was doing. However, she never asked me to leave or accuse me of a crime.

She grabbed my sign and I said, “Please do not touch my sign.” She then pulled the sign out of my hands bent/folded it and put it in the passenger seat of her van.

I asked her nicely “will you please give me back my property?” She said, “No.” I asked her for her name and she said it was officer Stewart.

I turned and walked away. She drove up beside me and asked my name. Then she drove off with my sign.

I went to the police station to report the theft of my sign, and the violation of my free speech rights, As well as to inquire about getting my property back.

Sgt. Cutburth who refused to take my criminal complaint of theft, after several attempts figured out that the officers name was Stewart not Stewarts with and ‘s’ as I had originally though, and informed me that officer Stewart took my property to the DUI checkpoint.

This is the video of me going to the DUI checkpoint to get my sign back.

You can read the complaint that I filed against Officer Stewart at KCCheckpoint.com.