No police help to rescue abused dogs and cats? The law applies to you too, Chief Smith
Kansas City Police Chief Rick Smith’s behavior this week again reminded us that the outgoing chief doesn’t really care about public safety. One month before he is expected to retire, Smith put animals — and people — in danger by saying police would no longer help rescue abused pets.
Animal abuse often happens along with domestic violence.
The Kansas City Council created the legal loophole Smith is trying to exploit when it privatized the city’s animal control services.
Smith wrote in a letter to Kansas City Municipal Court Judges Ardie Bland and Todd Wilcher that police officers will no longer help animal control officers with the KC Pet Project execute legally signed warrants.
In ordering police officers not to assist animal control agents doing their job removing pets from harmful situations, both animal services workers and abused pets are being left to fend for themselves, and that’s a dangerous situation.
Animal cruelty cases are a civil matter, Smith told the five-member Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners during its meeting this week.
Two years ago, the city outsourced its animal control services to KC Pet Project. Officials clearly overlooked a potential conflict. And if they didn’t think Smith would be willing to ignore a city ordinance on the books since the 1960s, they were wrong.
Peace officers are bound by city law to assist with animal control, including the removal of abused or neglected animals from abhorrent conditions.
Chapter 14 of the city code gives the Animal Services Division the authority to seek a warrant from Municipal Court and states the warrant “shall be executed with the assistance of the police,” according to KC Pet Project officials.
Mayor Quinton Lucas, the only police commissioner accountable to the public, pushed back against Smith’s rationale that animal cruelty investigations are not a priority for police.
“I hope the chief reverses the decision shared in his letter to the court and enforces the duly enacted laws of the city,” he said in a statement.
Smith is right on one point: Police don’t investigate animal cruelty cases. But animal control officers do and they deserve police protection while serving a warrant.
Pets are lawfully considered property, animal welfare advocates point out. Law enforcement officials assist in other civil matters such as evictions. Why should animal cruelty or abuse cases be any different?
This story was originally published February 24, 2022 at 11:16 AM.