KCFD battalion chief stays on the job despite history of DWIs. One case is pending
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- KCFD battalion chief Kyle Jasper was charged with DWI in Platte County on Aug. 24.
- Court records show Jasper has prior DWI convictions in 2004 and 2022.
- A judge sustained Missouri’s one-year license revocation for Jasper on June 5.
Just past midnight last Aug. 24, a white Chevy Silverado heading east on Northwest Barry Road caught a Platte County deputy’s attention.
The pickup was careening all over the roadway, the deputy wrote later that day.
“The vehicle swerved several times, weaved within its lane, and drifted left before making abrupt corrections,” he said in the probable cause statement filed in support of the resulting misdemeanor DWI charge.
At the intersection of North Green Hills Drive, the statement said, the driver activated a turn signal, then canceled it and kept going straight ahead. When the deputy initiated a traffic stop, it said, the pickup continued to head east with its turn signal on, passed several parking lot entrances and after about 40 seconds, stopped in the roadway.
The driver was identified as Kyle Jasper, the statement said. Battalion Chief Kyle Jasper of the Kansas City Fire Department. Court records show he had two prior DWI convictions.
The case is among a series of examples of Kansas City firefighters with multiple DWIs, some of which have been charged as felonies.
In December, a fed-up Clay County judge sentenced longtime Kansas City firefighter John Speer to five years in prison after he repeatedly violated his probation in a DWI case.
Speer had six DWI cases on his record, three of them felonies. In a July 2023 arrest — just five months after a previous arrest — his minor children were riding with him and his speed was clocked at 87 mph.
In October, former Kansas City fire Capt. Christopher Siegel was sentenced to 60 days in jail and five years’ probation after pleading guilty to driving while intoxicated in Clay County in May 2023 — his fourth DWI since 2016.
Siegel, who remained on the job for more than 16 months after his arrest, also was ordered to finish serving three more years of probation from a 2021 felony DWI case. He had violated his probation in that case several times.
Battalion Chief Michael Hopkins, a KCFD spokesman, confirmed Jasper’s position as a battalion chief, but has repeatedly said the department can’t comment on legal or personnel matters. Information obtained from the city in response to an open records request shows that Jasper was hired by KCFD in January 2003 and that his salary in 2025 was $131,685.
Jasper’s attorney, J. Timothy Yasso, did not respond to requests for comment.
Repeatedly asked deputy for a ‘professional courtesy’
When Jasper was stopped last August, the probable cause statement said, he made sure the deputy was aware of his job status.
“A strong odor of intoxicants was detected from his breath, displayed slurred speech, and bloodshot watery eyes,” the deputy wrote. “Jasper did not comply with commands to exit his vehicle. He denied drinking but gave inconsistent statements and repeatedly requested a ‘professional courtesy.’”
Jasper, 45, refused to undergo field sobriety tests and a preliminary breath test, the statement said.
“Based on his driving behavior, physical indicators, and refusal of sobriety testing, Jasper was placed under arrest for Driving While Intoxicated,” the deputy wrote. “... He momentarily agreed to a breath test, requested to speak to an attorney during the observation period, and ultimately refused to provide a breath sample.”
After a search warrant was obtained, the statement said, medical staff at Saint Luke’s North Hospital collected two vials of blood from Jasper’s left arm just before 3 a.m. The document doesn’t indicate the results.
“I believe the defendant poses a danger to the crime victim or society because Jasper was driving a vehicle while intoxicated on Platte County roadways and expected to be let go due to his job status,” the statement said.
Jasper was arrested on Aug. 24 and charged with DWI, a Class A misdemeanor, in Platte County Circuit Court. Records show he was released the same day on a $10,000 cash-only bond.
Not his first DWI
According to the charging document, it wasn’t his first DWI.
“Defendant is a prior offender and is required to serve ten days’ imprisonment before being eligible for probation or parole … ” the document said.
It said that “On or about March 2, 2022, defendant was found guilty of driving while intoxicated for events occurring on December 19, 2021, in the municipal court of Jackson County, Missouri.”
Jasper pleaded not guilty to the recent charge on Oct. 14, 2025. Court records show he completed a Victim Impact Panel class on March 31 and a Substance Awareness Traffic Offender Program on May 26.
On May 28, the prosecutor filed an amendment to the charging document, adding a second prior DWI to the list.
“On or about June 2, 2004, defendant was found guilty of driving while intoxicated for events occurring on February 28, 2004, in the municipal court of Lee’s Summit, Missouri,” it said.
Three days after his arrest last August, Jasper applied for a hearing on the Missouri Department of Revenue’s one-year revocation of his license for allegedly refusing to submit to a chemical test. He argued that the suspension of his driving privileges was improper.
On June 5 — after a hearing on the issue was continued multiple times — a Platte County associate circuit judge sustained the one-year revocation and ordered it to begin immediately.
Jasper’s next court hearing is scheduled for July 1.
