Kansas City police board delays decision on new chief; will reconvene Thursday
The Board of Police Commissioners held off on making a decision about the next Kansas City police chief after meeting in a closed session for over two hours Tuesday.
During the board’s regular meeting Tuesday morning, Mayor Quinton Lucas said he wanted to discuss the selection of the chief publicly. The other commissioners disagreed and a closed session began.
The board will reconvene Thursday morning to continue deliberating.
Members of the community have urged the board to take more time to make the decision. Former Kansas City Police Department officer and board member Alvin Brooks said more community input and transparency were needed. In particular, he said he wanted to hear from the candidates on the issue of community policing.
The three finalists, announced Dec. 5, are KCPD’s Acting Deputy Chief Stacey Graves; 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.
Gwen Grant, president and CEO of the Urban League of Greater Kansas City, said she hopes the decision is delayed by the board.
“They should cast a wider net to mitigate for the shallow candidate pool, after which they should host at least three more community sessions to include the Northland, south Kansas City, and the west side,” she said in a statement. “This decision should not be rushed. There is too much at stake.”
Steve Young, founder of the Kansas City Law Enforcement Accountability Project, said there were no true leaders on the board.
“It’s the people who are getting the short end of the stick,” Young said Tuesday. “They are still going to do what they want. They need to start over.”
Darron Edwards, lead pastor at United Believers Community Church, said he hopes the selection is made at Thursday’s meeting.
“I’d love to see, frankly, an announcement of the choice, that it has been decided so that the person that they want can get started and bring a sense of healing to our city,” he said.
On Saturday, the three candidates for police chief were interviewed during a public forum. The event was the only chance the public had to hear from the finalists, who spoke on a range of issues including the violent crime rate, community relations and racism within the department.
At one point, several protesters disrupted the forum.
“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.”
The group was led out of the auditorium by police.
“This process of selecting a police chief is entirely undemocratic and fixed,” Cook said in the parking lot.
The process has been criticized for months by several groups including the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, which has called for community voices to be included.
