‘Very reactionary’: Activists say KCPD’s new protest, body camera policies fall short
A day after the Kansas City Police Department touted new policies on protests and body cameras, community leaders and activists said the changes were welcomed, much-needed and long overdue.
But some also said they do not go far enough.
The new policies, which limit how police use force to break up public demonstrations and provide guidelines for body-worn cameras still being rolled out by the department, were approved Tuesday by the Board of Police Commissioners. The board’s action comes about nine months after police used tear gas and less-lethal munitions to disperse police brutality protests at the Country Club Plaza.
Some community activists who helped lead the protests noted on Wednesday that the policies do not restrict the police use of tear gas, which they said was excessive at the June demonstrations. The department still needs to be held more accountable to the public to enforce the policies it already has, they said.
“Hopefully, this is going to be a community tool for accountability,” said Stacy Shaw, an attorney who has been one of the leading figures in the protest movement. “But even tools that we already have in place do not result in accountability because they have lots of policies that they don’t follow.
“As far as wallpaper goes, it’s beautiful. But as far as actual change and accountability, it’s more of the same,” Shaw said.
The protest policy, which the department puts under the heading of “First Amendment-Protected Activities” explicitly prohibits officers from using less-lethal weapons and munitions, other than chemical agents, “to disperse crowds in the event of an unlawful assembly.”
On Wednesday, Mayor Quinton Lucas said the new policy was among a series of police reforms he pushed last summer.
“The First Amendment policy approved yesterday by the Board of Police Commissioners is an important step in protecting the rights of protesters and persons exercising their rights to free speech under the First Amendment,” Lucas said.
“Since last spring, I have called on the Kansas City Police Department to review and curb its use of tear gas and other projectiles, and I’m glad this new policy further restricts their use during peaceful protests and demonstrations. I am committed to ensuring all in Kansas City may continue to make their voices heard, regardless of opinion, and that they may do so safely,” he said.
The department’s use of less-lethal weapons had come under scrutiny during the protests after a one protester suffered a severe eye injury from a projectile fired by police. Another man suffered a broken leg after being hit by a tear gas canister.
Justice Horn, a 22-year-old social justice activist and political strategist who helped organized protests last summer, said the policy does not do enough.
“It is very reactionary but I think it is a good step for our community,” he said. “When we talk about how we react with people basically demonstrating their First Amendment right, it shouldn’t be with force.”
Horn said he would like to see the police board ban tear gas being deployed against civilians.
“When you are gassing people and putting them through that much pain, that doesn’t show that you’re there to protect them,” he said.
The policy says officers are required to allow “law-abiding individuals to continue to exercise their First Amendment protected rights,” and that officers “will focus efforts on those individuals in the active assembly who violate the law.”
Police are instructed to create a buffer zone between officers and protesters. Officers are not allowed to intentionally escalate tensions between themselves and protesters, the policy says.
The police board approved the continued use of chemical agents in applicable situations because it is supported by law as objectively reasonable given some circumstances, Sgt. Jacob Becchina, a police department spokesman, said in an email Wednesday, including when a gathering has been declared unlawful.
Body cameras
The new body camera policy was among the reforms a group local clergy demanded last summer at a news conference in front of Kansas City Hall.
The group said the body cameras should be a way to enhance accountability and guard against police brutality.
Under the policy approved Tuesday, officers are required to activate their body-worn cameras during every contact with the public. Video is to be retained for 180 days even if it is not evidence in an investigation. The body-worn cameras are compatible with the police department’s in-car camera system.
The initial funding for the body cameras came in the form of a $1 million donation from the DeBruce Foundation, a private donor, along with another $1.5 million from other community partners.
Kansas City Police Chief Rick Smith announced the new funding for body cameras during the June demonstrations.
The Rev. Darron Edwards, lead pastor at the United Believers Community Church in south Kansas City, was at last summer’s protests and also part of the clergy group that spent more than eight months working with police on the new protest policy.
The discussions were initially intense because police officials at times were not receptive to new ideas, Edwards said.
“They said, ‘these are the ways things have been, it is a part of the policies,’” Edwards said. “And of course, we advocated for the policy to be changed.
“There are other ways to de-escalate an activity other than using pepper spray or smoke bombs,” Edwards said. “I do know that police have to do what they have to do but I just believe that there are other de-escalation strategies they can be employed in moments of tension.
“This is the first of many steps that we need to put in place,” he said.
This story was originally published March 24, 2021 at 3:32 PM.