Officers shot at early Sunday while addressing protesters, but unclear by who: police
As they addressed protesters early Sunday, several police officers were shot at after midnight in Kansas City’s Midtown neighborhood, though it remained unclear who pulled the trigger, according to police.
The officers were in the area of 43rd and Main streets at the time, Capt. David Jackson, a Kansas City Police Department spokesman, said Sunday afternoon.
No officers were injured and no one was arrested, he said.
In a previous update, police said officers heard gunshots at the intersection around the time a woman reported being shot. She took herself to a hospital, with injuries that did not appear to be life-threatening. She said she was wounded on the Country Club Plaza.
Detectives went to the hospital to interview the woman, who said she did not know who shot her. She declined to give any other information, police said.
It was unclear if the shooting was related to protests at the Plaza.
The Saturday protest drew about 1,000 people, marking another in a series of demonstrations across the U.S. in the days after a now-fired Minneapolis police officer was seen in a video kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, who died. The officer, Derek Chauvin, was charged with third-degree murder.
By the end of the night Saturday, Kansas City police arrested 85 people and reported 10 people had been injured. Protesters lobbed frozen water bottles at officers, with Jackson estimating more than 100 rocks and bottles were thrown.
Demonstrations in Kansas City continued Sunday afternoon. Officers had arrested about three protesters as of 6 p.m. for minor offenses, Jackson said. He called Sunday’s protest peaceful.
City officials announced an 8 p.m. curfew for the Plaza, Westport and downtown business districts, pointing to fires and injuries that stemmed from Saturday’s protest. It meant people still in those areas after then would be subject to arrest.
Police hoped protesters would go home then.
“If that doesn’t happen, then we’ll evaluate the totality of the circumstances,” Jackson said.
As protesters shouted demands, including for Kansas City police to equip officers with body-worn cameras, some on social media raised concern that armed officers could be seen on top of a tower near the Plaza.
Sgt. Jake Becchina, a police spokesman, said some officers were placed in elevated positions for communication purposes, noting that as officers, they were armed. They were there, he said, as part of “over watch.”
Police on Sunday afternoon said officers discovered “stashes of bricks and rocks” in and around the Plaza and Westport that they believed were meant to be used during a riot.
Asked for more information during a news briefing, Jackson declined to comment on where the “cache” was found, but said it was not associated with construction.
“Frankly, I’d rather not say where they were located,” he said.
Aside from a police vehicle that was set on fire Saturday near West 46th Terrace and Wornall Road, Jackson said another police car had been marked with graffiti and was unusable. Other police vehicles were damaged with broken windows, he said.
To accommodate marching peaceful protesters, police Sunday evening closed roads in the Plaza, Midtown and Westport areas.
“We know there is more work, but seeing a peaceful march has been beautiful tonight,” Mayor Quinton Lucas posted on Twitter about the street closings. “I hope we retain this spirit on all sides.”
Earlier in the day, Lucas told protesters to talk to him about reform they’d like to see. He said he thinks everyday about his two nephews, who are in their 20s, and how he wants them to have “the same opportunity as everybody else.”
Because of the city’s curfew in certain areas, RideKC said it would suspend its services until Monday.
The Star’s Katie Moore contributed to this report.
This story was originally published May 31, 2020 at 7:59 PM.
