Mayor Lucas slams process for selecting KC police chief, says more time is needed
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Kansas City’s next police chief
The Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners presented a list of three finalists for the job of the city’s next police chief.
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Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas on Monday denounced the process the Board of Police Commissioners has carried out during its search for a new police chief, and said that more time and community input is needed before a final selection is made.
The board could make a decision as early as Tuesday.
Lucas spoke Monday morning on KCUR’s Up to Date where he discussed a range of topics, including the city’s homicide rate.
He acknowledged there have been concerns throughout the process for hiring the next chief and said he takes them seriously.
“We weren’t really the best at communicating this process,” Lucas said. “We did have our one meeting. And now we’re just gonna decide kind of out of nowhere. This is not necessarily the best of processes that I think people would want.”
“So I want to make sure at least I can get as much information as possible as I make this decision.”
But it is likely that the police board will meet in closed session following their monthly meeting Tuesday and select a new police chief.
“On what basis do we pick that chief, nobody knows. And in what way, who did we speak to, what references did we check? Nobody will know,” Lucas said. “And we could just make that decision, what four days after there was the one public hearing. It is not the type of way you wish to do these processes.”
On Dec. 5, the board announced the three finalists: KCPD’s Acting Deputy Chief Stacey Graves, the only internal and only female finalist; DeShawn Beaufort, a commander with the Philadelphia Police Department and Scott Ebner, a retired lieutenant colonel and deputy superintendent of administration for the New Jersey State Police.
The three candidates were interviewed during a public forum Saturday which was interrupted by a group of protesters who were angry about the selection process.
“We want justice. We want resources,” Amaia Cook told the crowd. “We don’t want another spineless police chief who’s going to cover up for murderous cops. So what we actually want to know is why does the BOPC use its power to manipulate the community into believing they have a voice in public opinion.”
Cook and others with the group Decarcerate KC were escorted out of the auditorium by officers.
“This process of selecting a police chief is entirely undemocratic and fixed,” Cook said in the parking lot.
On Monday, Lucas said he has been able to speak to each of the candidates, but does not know which one he favors yet. He still has questions about past reviews of each of the finalists, what the community thinks about their qualifications and what officers in the department want to see in a new chief.
He said a Black KCPD officer who attended the public meeting on Saturday asked him when they will have a voice in the selection process.
“I’ve got this list of concerns that are not being heard at the command staff level. It’s not being heard at the board level,” Lucas said.
Another public hearing might be needed to allow residents to share their concerns and ask questions that the event on Saturday did not permit, Lucas said.
“It is fair to say perhaps, that we have not reached that standard of openness and transparency the public really wants,” he said. “And what we’re really going to be asking people is to say, trust us, trust the board. Trust the next chief. And let’s hope for the best, which hasn’t always worked.”
The process has been widely criticized for months by local leaders and community groups. A coalition that includes the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce said they were concerned that the selection was being conducted without input from residents, business and community groups.
“We have been met with silence,” said John Sharp, president of the South Kansas City Alliance, who was one of 14 neighborhood, civic, faith and business leaders who signed the Sept. 26 letter.
“The public has been cut out of this process and we think if the public is involved in the process and gets to know these candidates, they’ll be more inclined to be supportive of them,” Sharp said. “And they’ll feel like whoever is selected is their chief, not just somebody that was picked by somebody else.”
Board president Mark Tolbert said “That’s the Mayor’s opinion and I have no comment.”
Board member Dawn Cramer also declined to comment.
This story was originally published December 12, 2022 at 11:32 AM.
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