Stressing balance between policing and overpolicing on Prospect to ensure safety | Opinion
Ever since Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves announced a 24/7 law enforcement presence in and around the Linwood Shopping Center area, I’ve gone back and forth about how to feel about such a heavy-handed approach.
Sure, there was a need for increased policing along the Prospect Avenue corridor at 31st Street. But until the Kansas City Police Department improves its willingness to identify problem officers or remove abusive cops from the force, I cannot in good faith feel at ease with this initiative.
Sun Fresh grocery store, the shopping center’s anchor tenant, is operated by nonprofit community development group Community Builders of Kansas City.
“I’m not concerned about overpolicing,” Community Builders CEO Emmet Pierson Jr. said.
I am. But I cannot discount what Pierson and others on the front line of this issue have to say.
What unsettles me most is the department’s recent and well-documented abusive treatment of Black Kansas Citians: A large number of people who live and congregate along the Prospect business corridor are Black. Many officers with a history of using excessive force against Black residents still patrol the streets. Some lawmen such as like Blayne Newton are repeat offenders. He and a few other bad actors such as officer Dylan Pifer are still on the police force.
Both Newton and Pifer have fatally shot unarmed Black men. While on duty, Newton killed three people and shot another person who survived. He put his knee in the back of a pregnant woman during an arrest. Newton is the subject of multiple lawsuits.
Pifer’s actions in the deadly shooting of Terrance Bridges cost the city $5 million tied to a civil lawsuit filed by Bridges’ family. And those are just two examples.
Linwood Shopping Center update
At an Urban Summit meeting Friday, Gwendolyn Grant, president and CEO of the Urban League of Greater Kansas City, told members of the Linwood Shopping Center solutions task force that there is a fine line between overpolicing and making arrests.
“We have to find that balance,” Grant said.
She said overpolicing to her means sending helicopters into urban areas or arresting people over trivial matters such as jaywalking. If someone is engaged in a sexual act in public — which was occurring around the 31st and Prospect area — or stealing from a retail store like Sun Fresh, police should hold those folks accountable and make an arrest, she said.
It’s hard to argue against Grant’s rationale. Yet, I will keep a watchful eye on how this initiative develops over time. What I do know is between Sept. 6 and 18, police made 16 arrests around the area, according to Kansas City Police Department data. Most were for minor offenses such as trespassing or shoplifting. Others were nabbed for drug possession, assault or illegal possession of a firearm, according to police.
Before the crackdown, open-air drug transactions and prostitution were rampant. Theft at Sun Fresh was so out of control that the store is still in danger of closing if city officials do not adequately respond, Pierson said. He’s appreciative of a heavy police presence. On a recent visit to the store, I counted between two to three police vehicles on the property at one given time.
Sun Fresh isn’t in the clear yet. While the continuous police presence is welcome, more resources are needed, Pierson said. The store is operating at a loss, he said. He wants the city to invest $500,000 into Sun Fresh to keep the business open for the remainder of the year.
The city owns the property on which Sun Fresh sits. Years ago, leaders pumped $20 million into the shopping center project. But the financial support must continue. If the store closes, then the collective effort of many stakeholders in the community was all for naught.
“The city has to take care of its property,” Pierson said.
Safety and security concerns
On Friday, Sun Fresh store director Adriana Rentie spoke about some of the security concerns around the area. And there are many, including a long-standing criminal element that has hurt the grocery store’s bottom line.
Rentie was among a handful of presenters. She also spoke on the dangers to the store’s employees.
“They just want to feel safe,” Rentie said.
Chief Graves was in attendance, as were Deputy Chief Joe Mabin and other high-ranking police officials.
Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker showed up. One of her top assistants, Chief Deputy Prosecutor Dion Sankar, spoke and took questions from members of the East Side community.
State Sen. Barbara Washington came. Several church pastors were in attendance. Jackson County Legislator DaRon McGee was there as well, along with other community leaders.
Noticeably absent were members of the Kansas City Council. While many came to previous meetings, not one showed for the latest on Friday.
At the urging of East Side leaders, the council recently approved $16 million to design a temporary holding facility for city-level offenses.
While we all should tip our hat to the council for approving this stopgap measure to deter crime, the work to assure the safety of Linwood Shopping Center patrons must not end there.
To address crime in that area, and to prevent overpolicing of the community, it is important for everyone invited to these discussions to show up and offer tangible solutions to a persistent problem.
But change, as Mabin said Friday, doesn’t occur overnight.
“I think it’s important to remember this is a work in progress,” he said. “We can’t flip a switch and all of a sudden solve all of the problems.”
On this, I think we all could agree.
