Public must see the payout given to Overland Park cop who killed teen in his driveway

Did they somehow move Overland Park out of Kansas? And why didn’t they say anything when they did it?

The Star has asked for copies of severance agreements from two public entities: the University of Kansas and the city of Overland Park. KU readily released its severance agreement with former head football coach Les Miles — in fact, the very same day we asked for it, March 9, under the Kansas Open Records Act.

In contrast, the city of Overland Park has steadfastly refused to release its severance agreement with a former police officer who shot and killed 17-year-old John Albers in January 2018 — ironically as well as tragically, while checking on the teen’s welfare at his home. As the young man backed the family van out of the garage, the officer fired into the van, killing him. Police say the officer, Clayton Jenison, felt in danger. The family and others dispute that characterization.

Either way, the department severed its relationship with Jenison in an agreement signed back in February 2018 — though the reported $70,000 severance amount only came out last summer.

“I had absolutely no idea that it involved money until June 2020,” says John Albers’ mother, Sheila Albers. “Discovering the money is what made people start asking questions about the actual agreement.”

And yet, despite all that time and The Star’s requests for the agreement’s release and an October lawsuit demanding it under the state’s open records act, the city has refused.

The discrepancy between KU’s openness and Overland Park’s opaqueness is absurd.

A brief filed this week by The Star’s attorney argues that KU’s release of Les Miles’ severance agreement proves that such agreements by public entities are subject to mandatory public release under KORA.

“By providing The Star with a copy of the Miles agreement within hours of the

university’s receipt of The Star’s KORA request,” the Star’s brief says, “KU acknowledged that the Miles settlement agreement, and agreements like it, are open records under the Kansas Open Records Act.”

So, why is the severance agreement of a football coach at a state university made public, but the severance of a police officer, paid by taxpayers in Overland Park, apparently none of our business?

“I think that’s a good question,” says Overland Park City Councilman Paul Lyons, who chairs the Public Safety Committee. “I’ve never had a problem with releasing it. I wish there was a way for us to release it like KU did.”

Lyons adds that there’s nothing earthshaking in the agreement.

But the public doesn’t deserve assurances; it deserves proof.

One problem, Lyons says: Jenison signed the agreement with the expectation that it would remain private.

Problem solved: The courts should disabuse both the city and Jenison of that notion. Such agreements made with public entities should never be withheld from public view. That’s not how the government is supposed to work in this country, and it’s not the law under the Kansas Open Records Act.

If a public payout after the fatal shooting of a struggling young man during a welfare check is not the public’s business, then what is?

This story was originally published March 12, 2021 at 5:00 AM.