Kansas City may spend $200K to have deputies beef up security in Westport, the Plaza
Days after a man was killed and five others injured in a Westport shooting, city officials are discussing whether to spend $232,000 to bring in Jackson County sheriff’s deputies to entertainment districts.
The deputies would help patrol Westport and the Country Club Plaza under the plan discussed at Wednesday morning’s Transportation, Infrastructure and Operations Committee. The money would come from interest earned on federal COVID-19 relief funds.
Staffing issues continue to plague Kansas City’s police and fire departments, as well as law enforcement across the country, Mayor Quinton Lucas said after the meeting. He called the staffing problem a “fundamental challenge of government” that they haven’t been able to hire their way out of it.
“There’s a question as to how can we make sure that there’s a strong enough presence shown that people know that there is security there, know that there will not be a tolerance for certain criminal activity and unlawful activity,” Lucas said. “And I think that’s something that people in every entertainment district deserve.”
Just over a week ago, four people were shot after a concert at the T-Mobile Center, across from the Power & Light District.
Sunday’s Westport shooting was the result of a fight that started inside Westport Ale House and moved outside, said Sgt. Bill Lowe, a spokesman for the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Three off-duty Kansas City police officers in uniform who were working security at the bar then exited and shot back.
Lucas said the security present that night should not be disregarded. Instead, he said, it speaks to other factors at play in preventing violent crime.
Committee members on Wednesday decided to wait to act until they could discuss the proposal more with the rest of the council and the Kansas City Police Department. Police department officials were scheduled to give a presentation to the full council on Thursday about safety in entertainment districts.
Councilwoman Katheryn Shields, District 4 at-large, said Westport’s issue is not financial — they can afford to pay for security, she said — but it’s difficult to get officers willing to work overtime. And for now, sheriff’s deputies can’t drive county vehicles to work off duty, Shields said.
She said moving forward on the ordinance Wednesday would be “a little premature.”
While Westport leaders could pay for security, they haven’t been able to replace burned out lights, she said.
“I think that we should be analyzing, do they have the money to pay for this themselves versus being in the city trough?” Councilwoman Melissa Robinson, District 3, said. “Which we’ve heard that they do.”
The legislation only looked to the sheriff’s office for the additional resources. Robinson said the city needs to ensure KCPD’s involvement in the negotiations as Kansas City’s primary agency for public safety.
Shields represents the district that includes Westport, alongside Councilman Eric Bunch.
“This is about public safety and this is something that is absolutely critical for the future of Kansas City,” Bunch said.
Lucas said it’s good to have the presence of off-duty officers and sheriff’s deputies, but they need to look at other preventative tools. The new bipartisan Safer Communities Act marks the most significant attempt by federal lawmakers to address the issue in nearly 30 years and has given Lucas hope.
Lucas pointed to the ready access to firearms, leading to proliferation of those weapons on Kansas City streets and increased threats to patrons and officers.
He said leaders have also talked about ways to draw more people to areas with vacant lots and sparse traffic to ensure “there aren’t just actually kind of empty battlefields where shootings are more likely to occur.”
It’s not just an entertainment district issue, Lucas said, as most of the city’s violence isn’t in those areas.
“We want to make sure that everybody can ultimately be safe in our city,” Lucas said.
