UMKC students call for the firing of new campus police chief in protest
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Roughly 15 UMKC students and organizers rallied calling for Chief Daniel Graves’s firing.
- Graves wrote a letter asking the court for leniency for Det. Eric DeValkenaere.
- UMKC said it conducted a national search, vetted applicants, and supports student protest.
Student activists rallied Tuesday at the University of Missouri–Kansas City, calling for the firing of newly hired campus police chief Daniel Graves.
Roughly 15 students and organizers with the university’s chapter of the Young Democratic Socialists of America said their protest was largely due to a letter of support Graves wrote for former Kansas City Police Department Det. Eric DeValkenaere.
“If UMKC wants to make this right, they would fire Daniel Graves and make an outward apology condemning what they have done; that is the bare minimum,” said Sawyer Cohen, a freshman UMKC student. “Although I know UMKC, and this won’t happen without your outrage, so do as you can and advocate for the firing of Daniel Graves.”
Graves was announced as the new campus police chief on April 24. He had previously served nearly 30 years with the Kansas City Police Department. Graves retired from the department in 2023 following the first year of his wife’s tenure as the chief of the Police Department.
Following Stacey Graves’ appointment as Police Chief, she was frequently questioned about the letter of support that her husband wrote for DeValkenaere.
DeValkenaere was convicted in 2021 of second-degree involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action in the fatal shooting of Lamb.
Graves’s letter asked for leniency from the court as DeValkenaere was beginning his appeal. Graves wrote in his letter that DeValkenaere had lived across the street from him, and called the charges “politically motivated.”
“We’re all angry because this university, who prides itself on diversity and safety of its students, decided to hire someone who clearly would not care about that,” said Andrea Sagastume, a UMKC student. “He defended the murder of Cameron Lamb.”
Organizers said that they have requested to speak directly to Graves since his hiring, but have yet to hear back from the department other than to offer support for the rally held on Tuesday.
“UMKC is nothing without its students,” said Briar Kraft, the event’s organizer and UMKC student. “The only way to take accountability is to issue an apology and admit your wrongs. And the only way to protect us is to fire Daniel Graves.”
Attendees then marched from the campus police station to the university’s student center before ending the rally. The group is planning to circulate a petition calling for Graves’s removal from the position.
UMKC officials reiterated a statement provided last week following news of Graves’s hiring.
“We conducted a national search for the UMKC police chief position and thoroughly vetted applicants,” the previous statement said. “We are confident that Chief Graves has the skills and experience to succeed in that role. As always, we support students’ rights to express their views in accordance with campus policies.”
