Gov. Greitens again appoints former federal prosecutor to Kansas City police board

On the day that two finalists for the job of Kansas City police chief are scheduled to participate in a community forum, Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens has appointed a former federal prosecutor to serve on the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners.

Nathan F. Garrett will replace former board member Alvin Brooks, who resigned to join the Hickman Mills school board in May.

Greitens had previously appointed Garrett to the police board in June, along with Bishop Mark C. Tolbert, but temporarily withdrew the appointments days later as a procedural move to avoid having the nominations held up by the Missouri Senate.

The same month, Greitens called state legislators back to Jefferson City to consider protections for religious organizations opposed to abortion and to take up new regulations on abortion providers.

Garrett and Tolbert were meant to replace board members Angela Wasson-Hunt and Michael Rader when their terms expired. Instead, Wasson-Hunt and Rader remain on the board until their replacements are named.

Garrett confirmed Thursday that Greitens appointed him to the police board.

Prior to the appointment, the five-member police board had four members. The fifth member would be positioned to break a tie vote on a final selection.

Kansas City Police Maj. Rick Smith and Norman, Okla., Police Chief Keith Humphrey are the two finalists to replace Interim Police Chief David Zimmerman, who was appointed to the position after Chief Darryl Forté unexpectedly announced that he would retire in May.

The board is scheduled to meet Friday morning at the downtown police headquarters for what could be a final interview.

Leland Shurin, police board president, has said he expected the board would make a final decision for the new police chief sometime in August or early September.

Garrett began his career as a police officer in West Plains, Mo. He became a prosecutor in Howell County and later a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper.

He later joined the FBI and worked at the agency’s Dallas office. While there, Garrett became a special assistant United States attorney, and his responsibilities included investigating and prosecuting national security and counterintelligence cases.

Garrett left the FBI after five years and became a full-time assistant U.S. attorney assigned to the Dallas office. Garrett transferred to the Kansas City office, where he worked until 2008, serving as head of the office’s national security unit.

Garrett currently operates a private law firm with former U.S. Attorney Todd Graves.

This story was originally published July 27, 2017 at 6:30 PM with the headline "Gov. Greitens again appoints former federal prosecutor to Kansas City police board."