KC police board to meet on body cams, 1st Amendment. No in-person comments allowed.
The Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners will meet at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday to discuss body-worn cameras and a policy draft relating to the First Amendment, among other things.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the meeting room will remain closed to the public, but residents can instead submit comments to the board by email, police said.
Jacob Becchina, a police spokesman, said board members read a summary of the public comments and questions sent by email for expediency during their meeting. Otherwise, it could take hours to read each comment.
Before the June meeting, for example, the board received 268 written comments, more than 50 of which were “demanding the ban on chokeholds, strangleholds and knee holds.” Dozens of others called for the firing of Police Chief Rick Smith and justice for Donnie Sanders, who was unarmed when an officer fatally shot him in March following a traffic stop.
Three comments thanked the department for its professionalism, according to the meeting’s minutes.
Becchina said all comments are posted on the department’s website and shared with the commissioners.
In comments submitted in July, some residents, including retired police officers, expressed their support for the current structure of the department, which is overseen by the board.
Kansas City is the only city in Missouri, and one of the largest cities in the U.S., that doesn’t have local control of its police force. Instead, the department is controlled by a five-member board appointed by the governor. As mayor, Quinton Lucas sits on the board.
Last week, Lucas asked for a hold on a measure that would have asked voters whether the city should prioritize lobbying the state legislature to acquire local control of the department. That means the question over local control will not be on the Nov. 3 ballot.
In an email before the Tuesday meeting, Sheryl Ferguson, who has spoken at recent protests, told the board that by taking submitted comments, those who “really have concerns can be overlooked and ignored.”
Last week, Ferguson and two other protesters interrupted a Kansas City Council to criticize the police board and tell Lucas that people are tired of waiting for accountability and transparency.
As they were escorted out of the meeting, another protester asked the council: “Who killed Donnie Sanders?”
The police department has become the focus of local scrutiny in recent months following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Amid protests earlier this summer, police announced they had received $2.5 million to secure some body cameras.
Comments can be submitted to the board before Tuesday’s meeting at bopc@kcpd.org.
This story was originally published August 24, 2020 at 11:37 AM.
