Lucas said he learned of Operation LeGend on Twitter; his office welcomed it day prior
The day before Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said publicly that he learned about Operation LeGend on Twitter, a letter with his signature was sent to a Justice Department official embracing the concept of a surge of federal law enforcement to assist with violent crime investigations.
The Star obtained a copy of the July 7 letter from Lucas’ office addressed to Tim Garrison, U.S. attorney for the western district of Missouri. In it, Lucas thanked the federal prosecutor for contacting the mayor’s office about a proposal to send agents to Kansas City to investigate violent crime.
“We welcome and support such action and the additional resources provided to help reduce our high crime rate and improve the quality of life for our residents,” the letter said.
The letter did not call the surge Operation LeGend; that name was first publicly used on July 8 by White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnaney during a press briefing.
McEnaney described Operation LeGend, named after 4-year-old Kansas City boy LeGend Taliferro, who was shot to death while sleeping in an apartment on June 29, as “a new initiative designated to fight the surge of violent crime that we’ve seen in Kansas City, directly in response to those requests by the mayor and by the governor.”
Operation LeGend drew protests in Kansas City last weekend with critics saying a larger law enforcement presence was not welcome.
As McEnaney’s statement began circulating on social media, Lucas tweeted and later said in a statement that he learned of Operation LeGend on Twitter.
Lucas said Thursday that his office sent the letter — which he said he had not reviewed beforehand — after Jane Brown, general counsel to the mayor, communicated with Garrison on July 7 about the federal surge. He said he didn’t know many details and learned about the letter the following day when Operation LeGend was announced.
“I think the next day my staff informed me about the existence of a letter,” Lucas said. “I actually think when looking at the letter it gives no idea of what’s happening, what’s different about this operation than the any number of random different federal operations we have, like Operation Relentless Pursuit.”
Lucas said he should have been informed directly by Garrison.
“It is highly unusual for a senior official or a principal to text one of my staffers, particularly a staffer who doesn’t have final sign-off authority,” Lucas said.
Garrison said he spoke to Brown — the two used to work together — and understood that she spoke to several members of Lucas’ staff about the matter.
“It came together rather quickly and I think we caught him on a day when a few of them were in several meetings,” Garrison said, adding that he too was caught off guard by the timing of the White House’s announcement.
“It’s true that he was not privy to the timing or the operational details of the operation,” Garrison said. “But it’s also true that I reached out to his office when the possibility of Operation LeGend, which didn’t have a name at the time, was being considered.”
On the afternoon of July 7, Brown texted Garrison to say that Lucas’ chief of staff John Stamm had approved sending an email that Brown drafted but was awaiting approval by Lucas, who was between a Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners meeting and another meeting.
Later on that day, Brown texted Garrison: “Tim — Mayor is supportive.”
Brown, often a conduit between Lucas and federal counterparts, said she was surprised to learn about Operation LeGend from the White House briefing on July 8.
“Prior to the announcement, I had been engaged in a half-day of discussions with the U.S. Attorney following an offer to send federal resources to Kansas City to help fight violent crime,” Brown said in a statement on Friday evening. “Standard protocol would suggest several more discussions would have taken place before any plan was finalized, announced, or executed — and certainly none of us expected that a verbal proposal first presented to us on a Tuesday would be announced at a presidential podium on Wednesday.”
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson also sent a letter to Garrison on July 7 expressing support for the Justice Department proposal, adding “It is my further understanding that Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas and Kansas City police Chief Rick Smith share my support for this type of collaboration.”
The Star on July 10 requested a copy of any correspondence between the mayor’s office and Garrison under the Missouri Sunshine Law, which requires public access to most government records. The request was denied by City Hall on the grounds that no such records existed. The Star obtained a copy of the letter from a confidential source.
Later on, after The Star informed Lucas’ office of the records denial, Lucas communications director Morgan Said provided The Star with the letter and text messages between Garrison and Brown.
Kansas City spokesman Chris Hernandez said in an email that city staff used an incorrect search term in their attempt to retrieve records.
“We process more than 1,000 Sunshine Requests each year with timely and accurate delivery of the requested records, which shows that we take our obligation to provide public records seriously,” Hernandez said.
Operation LeGend has been the subject of misstatements by public officials since it was revealed. And it has come at a time when the Trump administration has sent federal authorities to Portland in a controversial effort to quell demonstrations.
During a press event at the White House on Wednesday, Attorney General Bill Barr said that it has resulted in 200 arrests in Kansas City over a two-week period. No local officials would vouch for Barr’s claim.
The Justice Department was pressed about the veracity of Barr’s statement and a senior official corrected Barr’s statement, saying that the 200 arrests go back to December 2019. Then it turned out some of those arrests were part of a different federal initiative called Operation Relentless Pursuit and did not result in any new federal charges.
Justice Department officials have announced they’re expanding Operation LeGend to Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Chicago.
Lucas said subsequent to the initial hiccup with Garrison, the two have been in frequent communication about Operation LeGend.
“I also support the mission of Operation LeGend, which is getting violent, particularly murderous suspects off the streets,” Lucas said. “In that effort, I have found our particular U.S. Attorney to be a good partner in it.”
This story was originally published July 24, 2020 at 8:13 PM.
