Some local community leaders in Kansas City said they were skeptical of a Department of Justice initiative that would send as many as 100 federal law enforcement agents into the city amid continuing protests against police brutality and racial injustice.

The Trump administration on Wednesday announced Operation Legend, which is named after 4-year-old LeGend Taliferro. LeGend was shot while sleeping in a Kansas City apartment June 29, making him the city’s youngest homicide victim of year.

The operation, officials said, is meant to curb violent crime in areas like Kansas City, which is on track to have its deadliest year in history.

But some in Kansas City are worried the initiative will further divide the community by increasing the presence of law enforcement.

Few details of the effort have been made public so far. Attorney General William Barr announced that over 100 law enforcement officials from the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives would arrive in Kansas City within the next 10 days, according to a DOJ press release.

To help with an expected increase in prosecutions, the department will also send additional resources to Timothy A. Garrison, the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri, the release said.

Garrison said in a statement to The Star Wednesday that the “unprecedented level of violent crime” in Kansas City “warrants an unprecedented law enforcement response.”

‘There is a mistrust there’

The operation comes as distrust between local communities and law enforcement has been on full display and officers have clashed with demonstrators calling for police reform and budget restrictions.

Some local leaders said flooding the city with federal law enforcement ignores those demands and won’t solve the violence problems. They also want to see an end to violence in Kansas City but said community leaders should have a voice in decisions like the federal operation.

Brandi Olachi, an organizer with Black Lives Matter KC, has mixed feelings about the federal operation. She wants families like LeGend’s to have whatever resources are necessary to get justice, but she’s also wary of a big influx of law enforcement, especially after the protests.

“There is a mistrust there,” Olachi said. “A well-earned mistrust.”

City Council member Eric Bunch said he understands the need to reduce Kansas City’s violent crime but bolstering law enforcement resources isn’t the answer.

Local police have seen consistent increases in funding with little to no progress in solving crimes or reducing violence, he said. Plus, he said, the racial profiling and over-policing Black and brown people face from police could also come through during investigations of local crimes.

“Adding more law enforcement creates a greater tension between the communities that we’re trying to protect, and the people who are charged with protecting them,” Bunch said.

“As we know with police brutality, but then specifically the great loss of Black lives at the hands of law enforcement and the mass incarceration in particular of Black men, I’m concerned about bringing that element into Kansas City in greater numbers.”

Rather, Bunch said local and national leaders should focus on funding accessible physical and mental health care and public health-approved approaches to conflict resolution. He said they should also pass stricter state gun laws, but he is not optimistic all of those solutions will come to fruition with Republican leadership.

‘This is coming out of left field’

Justice Horn, a local organizer who has led some recent protests, said he thinks the initiative was announced to please Gov. Mike Parson’s conservative base ahead of elections in November. Ahead of the announcement of Operation Legend, Parson had visited the White House Tuesday to discuss the possibility of reopening schools.

If state and federal leaders wanted to assist Kansas City, Horn said, they would have included Mayor Quinton Lucas in the decision-making process.

Lucas said Wednesday that he learned about Operation Legend on Twitter.

“If we were really being collaborative and making sure everyone had a seat at the table, then that’s how it would have been done,” Horn said. “But this is coming out of left field, so it’s going to cause civil unrest, and I think it’s only for political gain.”

Garrison, the U.S. Attorney, said in a statement to The Star Wednesday that the mayor’s office was one of a number of offices in communication with the DOJ on potential solutions to violent crime, but the details of Operation Legend “came together rapidly, with a sense of urgency to prevent more deaths with each passing day.”

“These state and local offices welcomed additional federal resources,” Garrison wrote. “Although they may not have been aware of all the evolving details of the operation, they positively responded to our offer of support. That support not only includes federal agents, but my commitment to provide the legal horsepower to prosecute as many of these criminal cases as possible in federal court.”

Community-backed solutions

Since communities impacted by higher rates of violence and crime usually are in need of more economic opportunities, the government should also invest more in education and other programs to help Kansas Citians, said Damon Daniel, president of AdHoc Group Against Crime.

Daniel also wants the city to create a more robust witness protection program to build trust between community members and law enforcement and help more Kansas City residents feel safe coming forward when they have information about a crime.

Lucas said in his statement Wednesday that he believes the federal agents Barr is directing to the city will work on investigations into unsolved murders and shootings rather than working on daily policing and patrol activities.

In a public letter sent to Parson July 3 Lucas asked for a special session of the Missouri General Assembly to work on legislation that would combat rising violent crime rates in Kansas City and advocated for more money to be spent on the city’s witness protection program.

Missouri lacks a comprehensive witness protection program. An effort by the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office to secure federal grant funding for witness protection was not joined by Kansas City police and ultimately failed, The Star reported in late 2019.

In the letter, Lucas expressed that in his 11 months as mayor, dealing with violent crime and gun violence in particular had presented the greatest challenges.

“We are at a crisis point in Kansas City and we need state legislative action on several items we have previously discussed to address our problem,” Lucas said in his letter to Parson.

Lucas said in an interview with The Star at the time that he spoke with Parson and knew he had an interest in taking action to reduce violence in the city. So far, a special session has not been confirmed.

This story was originally published July 9, 2020 at 3:42 PM with the headline "‘Well-earned mistrust’: Some KC leaders question federal law enforcement operation."