Feds expand Operation LeGend, first launched in Kansas City, to 3 more Midwest cities
A federal operation launched in Kansas City with the goal of combating violent crime is expanding to three more Midwestern cities, the Department of Justice announced Wednesday.
Cleveland, Detroit and Milwaukee will be receiving federal agents through Operation LeGend, named after 4-year-old LeGend Taliferro, who was fatally shot while sleeping last month in a Kansas City apartment.
Last week, President Donald Trump announced the operation’s first expansion to Chicago and Albuquerque.
News of the latest expansion came a day after the U.S. Attorney’s Office claimed at least 50 arrests have been made as part of Operation LeGend in the Kansas City area. The local arrest count was announced hours after Attorney General William Barr confirmed he “misspoke” last week when he announced more than 200 arrests had been made through the operation.
In a Wednesday news release, Barr said the cities pinpointed for the latest expansion “have seen disturbing increases in violent crime, particularly homicides,” in the past year.
“For decades, the Department of Justice has achieved significant success when utilizing our anti-violent crime task forces and federal law enforcement agents to enforce federal law and assist American cities that are experiencing upticks in violent crime,” Barr continued. “The Department of Justice’s assets will supplement local law enforcement efforts, as we work together to take the shooters and chronic violent criminals off of our streets.”
Operation LeGend is aimed at reducing violent crime by sending in additional federal agents from the FBI, Marshals Service, DEA and ATF to assist local law enforcement in solving crime.
In Kansas City, an additional 225 federal agents are joining 400 agents already working and living in the metro area, Timothy Garrison, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, said previously.
The DOJ is sending at least 25 federal investigators to both Milwaukee and Cleveland, and approximately 42 additional federal agents to Detroit, according to the news release. Each city is also receiving funding for the hiring of additional local law enforcement.
The operation has received critique within the Kansas City community since its announcement. Most recently, a number of community leaders asked Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas to reject the operation.
Lucas has said the operation “is not tanks on the streets,“ and is “not a substitute patrol force.”
This story was originally published July 29, 2020 at 12:04 PM with the headline "Feds expand Operation LeGend, first launched in Kansas City, to 3 more Midwest cities."
