‘Not capable of doing the job’: Activists react to KCPD Chief Rick Smith’s departure
Activists in Kansas City applauded news that Rick Smith has been forced out of his position as police chief, and hope that a new chief will mean positive change for the department and the community.
On Tuesday, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas and Board of Police Commissioners President Mark Tolbert met with Smith at City Hall. Details of the meeting were not disclosed by the mayor’s office, but it came four days after former Det. Eric DeValkenaere was convicted of manslaughter in the shooting of a 26-year-old Black man.
Gwen Grant, president of the Urban League of Greater Kansas City, said the board had the votes it needed to terminate Smith. Another source also confirmed that to The Star.
Smith, who was appointed in 2017, will retire in 2022, Capt. Leslie Foreman, a spokeswoman for the department said in a statement to The Star. When he was hired, he said he would stay no more than five years.
“As per his commitment, he plans to retire sometime in the upcoming year,” she said. “He will announce that date well in advance to ensure a smooth transition for the police department.”
Grant said Smith is “trying to put a positive spin on basically what is in effect a termination.”
In a tweet, former police chief Darryl Forté said few people know what it’s like to serve as the chief of a major city.
“None of us are perfect,” said Forté, who is now the Jackson County Sheriff. “Let’s all contribute to bringing law enforcement and other segments of the community together.”
Rev. Emanuel Cleaver III, senior pastor of St. James United Methodist Church, said he thought Smith “has clearly clearly shown that he is not capable of doing the job.”
“Stepping down in March still means we have four more months of someone who should not be at the helm of KCPD,” Cleaver said in a statement. “Allowing him to step down when he wants to shows that maybe the board of police commissioners needs to be overhauled.”
Community members and activists have long called for Smith’s resignation, citing cases of excessive force and last year’s record breaking number of homicides in Kansas City.
“Over the last several weeks, I’ve spoken with Black and white KCPD officers who expressed their dismay with Rick Smith,” said Rev. Darron Edwards, lead pastor of the United Believers Community Church. “I implore Kansas City that if we truly desire a safer city in every zip code. the next Chief must come from out of state.”
Groups including the Urban League, the Kansas City chapter of the NAACP and the Metro Organization for Racial and Economic Equality, have demanded Smith resign. The board of the Indian Mound Neighborhood Association, which represents a neighborhood of about 10,000 people in northeast Kansas City, also called for him to step down.
Stacy Shaw, a Kansas City attorney and activist, said forcing out Smith was proof that things can change.
“There have been activists that have been out there in front of the police station every Friday, rain, sleet and snow,” Shaw said. “This is a win for the community.”
Smith’s leadership was questioned as former Det. Eric DeValkenaere went on trial last week in the December 2019 shooting of Cameron Lamb. DeValkenaere was found guilty by a judge. Prosecutors alleged that police staged the crime scene.
DeValkenaere is the first white Kansas City police officer found guilty of killing a Black man.
Lora McDonald, executive director of MORE2, a social justice organization, said Smith has failed to hold his officers accountable.
”One of our biggest concerns about Chief Smith was his refusal to bench officers for more than a few days after they killed someone,” she said. “He consistently chose to back officers without any regard for community or even appearances. We need a police chief who believes that it’s her or his job to investigate all shootings, regardless of who pulled the trigger and to follow facts and evidence. We are hopeful that new leadership means improved outcomes for the entire community.”
The first three years of Smith’s tenure saw Kansas City police fatally shoot twice as many Black men as the first three years of the previous chief.
Smith also faced criticism during the protests in the summer of 2020, held in response to the murder of George Floyd by a former Minneapolis police officer. Police deployed pepper spray, tear gas and less lethal munitions on protesters calling for racial justice and an end to police brutality.
This story was originally published November 23, 2021 at 5:21 PM.
