Kansas Citians cite transparency, police accountability among desired goals in new chief
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KC Interim Police Chief Joe Mabin hopes to rebuild trust
22-year veteran Joe Mabin was appointed the interim Kansas City police chief in April.
His challenge for his brief time leading the KCPD? Bridging the enormous chasm between the police force and the various communities it serves.
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As the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners will soon decide who will replace outgoing Police Chief Rick Smith for the long term, community members are saying they want a top cop who will improve citizen engagement, officer accountability and department transparency.
Those were some of the first suggestions offered during a listening session that took place Tuesday night inside the community room of Northland Neighborhood Inc., where a multiracial gathering of Kansas City residents shared their thoughts on qualities they want in the next chief.
Other recommendations included a chief who will advocate for following the lead of other cities, recognizing mental illness in the community and better training for officers on racism and implicit bias.
On Friday, Smith formally announced that he is retiring and his last day will be April 22. Smith, the chief since 2017, has repeatedly said he would leave within five years at the helm, though The Star reported that his retirement was accelerated by pressure from the city’s police board in the face of public criticism.
Several civil rights groups, neighborhood associations and faith leaders have long called for Smith to be removed as chief. Those calls were amplified last year following the conviction of former Det. Eric DeValkenaere, who shot and killed 26-year-old Cameron Lamb in his driveway in 2019.
On the same day Smith announced his retirement, the Board of Police Commissioners appointed Deputy Chief Joseph Mabin, who leads the department’s investigations bureau, as interim chief. Mabin, a 22-year veteran of KCPD, is expected to be sworn in on the morning of April 22. Mabin is not applying to fill the role long term, Mayor Quinton Lucas has said.
The listening session on Tuesday was organized by a coalition of business, civic and faith-based organizations and was designed to engage and encourage residents to express their thoughts on the qualities for the city’s next police chief.
Marjorie Williams, the former superintendent of the Hickman Mills School District and one of the event’s facilitators, said the community’s input is imperative.
“It gives us an idea of how to go back and look strategically at what we need to do moving forward,” Williams said.
Williams said the listening sessions are an opportunity for residents to make their voices heard in the coming weeks about what the priorities of police leadership should look like. She added that event leaders want community members to focus on how the police department can move forward without becoming “stuck in the past.”
“We know that there’s some things in the past that will never go away, that will be a part of our history. But let’s just talk about the mecca that Kansas City can be if we move forward and think about what our future looks like,” Williams said.
Roughly 100 participants were seated at tables positioned throughout the meeting room for the first session. Several current and former KCPD commanders, deputy chiefs as well as a member of the BOPC, city council members and faith leaders from the urban core were sprinkled throughout the room.
Moderators encouraged participants to focus on the future, not the past. Participants were asked to describe what community engagement, transparency and accountability should look like under new leadership.
Community participants, including city residents and area business owners, were also asked through a written survey to highlight positive attributes they’re looking for. The survey focused on qualifications, experience and priorities of the next top cop.
Among those who attended was Jennifer Schmitz, of Clay County. She said she wants the next police chief to be a common presence in the community and a familiar face for Kansas Citians.
Schmitz said she views Kansas City’s crime rate as the biggest problem the department is currently faced with. She believes the best way to get there is by putting more officers on the street, decreasing the wait times for 911 calls and keeping criminal offenders incarcerated.
“At the end of the day, we want this new police chief to be focused on results. And the ultimate result is bringing crime down,” Schmitz said.
Picking the next chief is ultimately in the hands of the Board of Police Commissioners, a five-member panel where four members are appointed by the governor. The only member of the board directly chosen by Kansas City residents is the mayor, who has the power to cast one vote.
In recent years, the board has tended to promote from within the ranks of the Kansas City Police Department, though it has also hired recruiting firms to look for candidates from outside. The BOPC has not hired an executive search firm to conduct a national search.
The unique governmental setup of the Board of Police Commissioners has long been criticized by political leaders and advocates who believe the city’s elected officials should have more power when it comes to management of the police department. Defenders of the structure argue all board members must reside in Kansas City, amounting to a form of local control.
The next two upcoming listening sessions are scheduled to take place at 10 a.m. Saturday at Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Center, 3700 Blue Parkway, and Evangel Church, 1414 E. 103rd St.
This story was originally published March 29, 2022 at 9:06 PM.
