Kansas City Police Department

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Not to be confused with Kansas City Police Department (Kansas).
Kansas City Police Department (Missouri)
Patch of the Kansas City Police Department
Patch of the Kansas City Police Department
Flag of Kansas City, Missouri
Flag of Kansas City, Missouri
Common nameKansas City Police Department
AbbreviationKCPD
MottoTo Serve and Protect
Agency overview
Formed
  • April 15, 1874 (1874-04-15)
  • (147 years ago)
Preceding agency
  • Kansas City Police Department
Employees2,020 (2021)
Annual budget$249 million (2021)[1]
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdictionKansas City, Missouri, Missouri, US
US-MO-Kansas City-Entire City.png
Map of Kansas City Police Department (Missouri)'s jurisdiction
Legal jurisdictionCity of Kansas City, Missouri
Governing bodyGovernor of Missouri
General nature
  • Local civilian police
Operational structure
Headquarters1125 Locust Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64106
Police Officers1,259 (2021) Police officers
Corrections personnel and Civilian members607 Corrections personnel and Civilian Members (2021)
Police Commissioners responsible
Agency executives
  • Colonel Richard Smith, Chief of Police
  • Deputy Chief Karen True, Executive Services Bureau
  • Deputy Chief Shawn Wadle, Administration Bureau
  • Deputy Chief Karl Oakman, Patrol Bureau
  • Deputy Chief Robert Kuehl, Professional Development and Research Bureau
  • Deputy Chief Mark Francisco, Investigations Bureau
Stations
6
Facilities
Detention Centers1
Website
Kansas City Police Department official website

The Kansas City Police Department (KCPD) is the principal law enforcement agency serving Kansas City, Missouri. Missouri Supreme Court Justice Brent Powell swore in Richard C. Smith as the 45th Chief of Police of the Kansas City Missouri Police Department on August 15, 2017.[2] Col.[citation needed] Smith, who served as head of the KCPD's Central Patrol Division,[3] became the city's 45th police chief on August 15, 2017.[4]

Overview[]

The Mission of the Kansas City Missouri Police Department is to protect and serve with professionalism, honor and integrity.[5]

Kansas City Police Department is the largest city police agency in Missouri, based on number of employees, city population, and geographic area served.

History[]

The Kansas City Police Department was founded in 1874. George Caleb Bingham was the first president of the Board of Police Commissioners. The first Chief was Thomas M. Speers. From its inception the department was under the control of the Commissioners, appointed by the Missouri governor. In 1932 the police department came under local control for the first time during the Pendergast era. After significant corruption the Board was reinstated and around half of employees fired.[6][7] Following the St. Louis police return to home rule in 2013, Kansas City is the only major city in the country without local control of the police department.[8]

The Kansas City preventive patrol experiment was a landmark experiment carried out between 1972 and 1973 by the Kansas City Police Department. It was evaluated by the Police Foundation. It was designed to test the assumption that the presence (or potential presence) of police officers in marked cars reduced the likelihood of a crime being committed. It was the first study to demonstrate that research into the effectiveness of different policing styles could be carried out responsibly and safely.

Board of Commissioners[]

Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners
Mo - Kansas City Police.png
Logo of the Kansas City Police Department
Formation1943
TypeCivilian Oversight Board
PurposeTo oversee the Kansas City Police Department and set department policy and goals
Headquarters1125 Locust St.
Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
Region served
Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
President-Commissioner
Nathan Garrett
WebsiteKansas City Board of Police Commissioners

The Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners is responsible for the operation of the KCPD. The Board sets policy, makes promotions, holds both closed and open meetings and coordinates with the Chief of Police in providing police services to the citizens. Four of the five members of the board are selected by the governor of the state of Missouri, following approval of the Missouri legislature, with the mayor serving as the fifth member. Commissioners serve four year terms, however they serve at the pleasure of the governor and can be replaced.

Rank structure[]

The Rank Structure of the Kansas City Missouri Police Department is as follows:

Title Insignia
Chief of Police
US-O6 insignia.svg
Deputy Chief
US-O5 insignia.svg
Major
US-O4 insignia.svg
Captain
Captain insignia gold.svg
Sergeant
NYPD Sergeant Stripes.svg
Police Officer
Blank - Spacer.png
Probationary Police Officer
Blank - Spacer.png

Sidearms[]

The main sidearm used by the KCMO PD is the Glock 22 or Glock 23 both in .40 S&W. Officers also had the choice of choosing the Smith & Wesson Sigma but that is no longer chosen by officers as was the S&W 4026 (Smith & Wesson Model 4006) .40 S&W which had the KCMO PD Badge and KCPD engraved on the slide.[9]

Vehicles[]

KCPD currently owns and operates three MD 500 helicopters, purchased in 2012.[10] There is a heliport and maintenance facility on Manchester Trafficway, near the Truman Sports Complex. The helicopter unit began in 1967 with three Schweizer S300 rotocraft.

In 2016 a helicopter made an emergency landing on a northeast Kansas City street after experiencing a mechanical problem.[11]

Media[]

The Tactical Response Teams of KCPD was featured in A&E's reality series Kansas City SWAT.[12]

The Kansas City, Missouri Police Department has been portrayed in numerous episodes of the television show COPS.

The Homicide Unit of the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department was portrayed in the A&E Network's documentary series entitled The First 48.

A viral video circulated on Twitter showing KCPD officers assaulting nonviolent protesters, bringing national attention to the department.[13]

Controversies[]

In 2013, Ryan Stokes was fatally shot in the back during a foot chase in the Power and Light District after it was reported that he stole a mobile phone.[14] The officer that fired his weapon was initially awarded a certificate of commendation that was later revoked after it was discovered that some accounts of the incident were inaccurate.[15] A federal court ruled the officer is entitled to qualified immunity from a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the victim's family, as it was judged that the officer concluded he was in imminent danger despite Stokes being unarmed.[16]

Two officers were indicted in 2020 for felony assault committed during an arrest for trespassing that was recorded in a widely shared video.[17][18] The videographer was ticketed and convicted of failure to obey a lawful order after being told to stop recording; he was later pardoned by the mayor.[19]

Cameron Lamb was fatally shot by an officer while reversing his truck into a backyard garage following helicopter reports of a traffic disturbance in 2019. The officer involved was charged with involuntary manslaughter.[20][21]

During the 2020 George Floyd protests, KCPD fired chemical agents, such as pepper spray, at protesters.[22] In wake of these crowd control measures, civil rights groups have called for the resignation of Chief Smith, who defended the officers' actions. [23][24] An activist who was arrested after stepping off the sidewalk is suing the officers who used pepper spray on him and his daughter for excessive force.[25] An officer involved was later charged with misdemeanor assault for spraying pepper spray in the teen's face.[26] Over 150 protesters were arrested during the summer's events and all non-violent charges were dropped by city council ordinance.[27][28]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Sullivan, Carl; Baranauckas, Carla (June 26, 2020). "Here's how much money goes to police departments in largest cities across the U.S." USA Today. Archived from the original on July 14, 2020.
  2. ^ "KCMO.gov". Kcmo.org. Retrieved 2016-07-20.
  3. ^ "KC's new police chief is Major Rick Smith". July 28, 2017.
  4. ^ "Vowing to work to reduce crime, Rick Smith is sworn in as Kansas City's police chief". kansascity.
  5. ^ "KCPD Mission Statement". KCMO.gov. Retrieved 2016-07-20.
  6. ^ https://www.kcpd.org/about/history/
  7. ^ https://www.kcur.org/government/2020-06-10/faq-why-kansas-city-doesnt-have-local-control-over-its-police-department-and-how-that-could-change
  8. ^ https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2013/08/28/216489820/after-152-years-st-louis-gains-control-of-its-police-force
  9. ^ https://i.redd.it/l9x1he7w64wy.jpg
  10. ^ https://www.kcpd.org/about/specialized-units/helicopter-unit/
  11. ^ https://www.kshb.com/news/local-news/kcpd-helicopter-makes-emergency-landing-in-street-in-kcmo
  12. ^ "Kansas City SWAT | TV Guide". TVGuide.com.
  13. ^ Waldrop, Theresa (3 June 2020). "Video shows police pepper-spraying a protester. All he seemed to be doing was yelling". CNN. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  14. ^ https://www.kshb.com/news/crime/mother-of-2013-kc-police-shooting-victim-calls-for-further-investigation
  15. ^ https://www.kshb.com/news/crime/award-for-kansas-city-officer-who-shot-killed-man-in-2013-rescinded-police-say
  16. ^ https://www.kshb.com/news/crime/federal-court-grants-kcpd-officer-immunity-in-ryan-stokes-shooting
  17. ^ https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/crime/article245087750.html
  18. ^ https://www.kctv5.com/news/kctv5_news_this_morning/pre-trial-conference-held-wednesday-in-breona-hill-case/article_3bb7fc42-298a-11eb-bc61-eb7fd96aa7d8.html
  19. ^ https://fox4kc.com/news/kansas-city-man-pardoned-after-filming-womans-arrest-that-led-to-kcpd-officers-indicted/
  20. ^ https://www.kctv5.com/news/investigations/kc-police-officer-accused-in-death-of-cameron-lamb-gets-help-in-defense/article_eadf9458-dce8-11ea-977c-231344898e72.html
  21. ^ https://www.kshb.com/news/crime/kcpd-detective-charged-in-cameron-lambs-shooting
  22. ^ Cummings, Ian (1 June 2020). "Photo shows Kansas City police officer pepper spray man in face". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  23. ^ Rice, Glenn E. (3 June 2020). "Civil rights groups say Kansas City police chief should resign". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  24. ^ Rice, Glenn E. and Kevin Hardy (3 June 2020). "Jackson County prosecutor is reviewing KCPD officers' use of pepper spray on protester". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  25. ^ https://www.kshb.com/news/local-news/pepper-sprayed-protester-from-viral-video-tarence-maddox-sues-kcpd
  26. ^ https://www.kcur.org/news/2021-03-13/kansas-city-police-officer-charged-with-minor-assault-during-protests-last-summer
  27. ^ https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/crime/article249890458.html
  28. ^ https://www.kctv5.com/news/local_news/kc-prosecutor-dismisses-over-200-charges-against-protesters-for-non-violent-offenses/article_191f5228-ba51-11ea-9604-1b00e3582173.html
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