Here’s why civil rights leaders, businesses clashed over Westport sidewalk closures

A proposal to privatize Westport sidewalks on weekends for weapons checks landed at the intersection of public safety and civil rights Wednesday, as Kansas City Council members heard pointed testimony on the measure.

Businesses in the popular entertainment district have called for the measure after a frightening spike in late night gun violence. If approved, the city would privatize sidewalks in an area bounded by Pennsylvania Avenue from West 40th Street to Archibald Street, and Westport Road from Broadway to Mill Street. Under Missouri law, police can screen for concealed weapons on private but not public property. The metal detection checkpoints would be in place on Friday and Saturday nights from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m.

An earlier version of the ordinance calling for vacating selected streets, was tabled last summer.

Some opponents of the proposal contend that the security setup invites racial profiling, bringing unlawful attention to black and other minority patrons of bars and restaurants.

Councilwoman Alissia Canady, who supports the ordinance, presented police officials with data suggesting that African Americans are at elevated risk of being crime victims in Westport.

Over the last three years, more than 40 percent of the 130 victims of violent crime in the heart of Westport were African Americans, according to police Capt. Doug Niemeier.

“I thought those numbers were important to point out,” said Canady, chairwoman of the council’s neighborhoods and public safety committee. “We’re not 40 percent of the people in Westport.”

Violence is most likely to occur between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m., according to police data. A heat map showed the incidents clustered along a segment of Westport Road near the intersections of Broadway Boulevard, Pennsylvania Avenue and Mill Street.

“The vast majority of violent crime is happening in that very corridor that we’re trying to address with this ordinance,” said Councilwoman Katheryn Shields, sponsor of the measure. It includes a “claw back” provision allowing the city to reclaim the sidewalks if the plan proves to be ineffective.

Police said despite a heavy weekend presence in the area — including off-duty officers and private security — the situation was not improving.

“We have a large amount of resources down there and crime is still happening,” Niemeier said.

Civil rights advocates reaffirmed their opposition to the ordinance. Rev. Rodney Williams, representing the NAACP and the Swope Parkway United Christian Church, called it “a slippery slope leading to racial profiling.”

Attorney Clinton Adams argued that other more crime-ridden communities don’t receive the same attention from police and policymakers as Westport.

“What you’re saying is that life in Westport is more precious than at 64130,” Adams said, referring to a ZIP code on the city’s east side.

That brought a vehement push back from Canady, a former prosecutor who was caught in the middle of a gun battle at 57th and Swope Parkway last April.

“This is a public safety issue,” she said. “For anyone that wants to race bait on this issue, shame on them.”

Westport business leaders urged members to pass the plan on to the full council for approval.

“This is a calamity waiting to happen,” said Greg Patterson, founding chairman of the Broadway Area Community Improvement District, referring to the possibility of the kind of mass shootings that have occurred elsewhere.

This story was originally published December 13, 2017 at 6:39 PM with the headline "Here’s why civil rights leaders, businesses clashed over Westport sidewalk closures."