Kansas Citians voice frustration with Board of Police Commissioners at listening session
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A Kansas City man confronted the president of the Board of Police Commissioners and accused him of being unaware of excessive force problems Saturday during a community listening session.
About 100 people gathered for the event at the Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Heritage Center, one of several organized as the police board begins the process of selecting a new leader for the Kansas City Police Department.
Chief Rick Smith, who has been at the helm since 2017, will step down April 22.
His tenure has been marked by use of force controversies and a frayed relationship with some in the Kansas City community.
Participants convened around tables Saturday to share their opinions on the next police chief.
Tolbert sat in a group with Gwen Wrench, an Oak Park resident, who said she does not trust the police and does not like to call them.
Wrench also said she doubted the police board would really take residents’ comments into consideration.
“I guarantee you that what you say here will make a difference,” Tolbert told her.
Each table shared their thoughts with the larger group.
Evelyn Maddox, who lives by the Plaza, said she wants the next police chief to be a voice for healing. During the summer 2020 protests, organized in response to the murder of George Floyd, Kansas City police deployed chemical weapons and projectiles at demonstrators at the Plaza.
“Our police chief didn’t do anything to help bridge the divide,” Maddox said. “He or she may not be the healer in chief for a nation, but this is a person who has some ability to bring healing to our communities.”
As Tolbert went to leave to head to a different listening session, Christian Black ran up to him, pointed a finger in his face and said, “How dare you don’t know what’s going on in this community.”
Tolbert smiled at Black, a resident of Blue Hills, but did not respond. Tolbert also declined to make any comments to The Star.
After the incident, Black said he was upset because he had brought up Officer Blayne Newton to Tolbert. According to Black, Tolbert responded by saying he had not heard of Newton. Newton has been involved in several excessive force claims that have been questioned by the community.
Black thought Tolbert should have been aware of Newton and other officers who have been accused of hurting Kansas Citians.
Earlier this week, The Star reported that a Black teenager who was punched more than 10 times and tased by three Kansas City police officers in October 2019 had received a $325,000 payment.
Newton was one of the three officers involved. He also fatally shot Donnie Sanders, an unarmed Black man in March 2020. A lawsuit filed last month accuses Newton of using excessive force in Sanders’ death.
This story was originally published April 2, 2022 at 4:22 PM.
