Independence’s top 3 leaders leaving, while public safety suffers | Opinion

The leadership vacuum in Independence is pronounced: In this Kansas City suburb, there is no permanent police chief, its city manager is on the way out the door and the city’s incumbent mayor recently announced he will not seek a second term.

Let’s pause a minute to contemplate the impact such an unsteady ship could have on the quality of life in Missouri’s fifth largest city. This is no knock on the men and women who are in other important decision-making positions in Independence. But these leadership roles exist for a reason.

Not all is lost, though. Because of these openings or expected vacancies, Independence has a chance to chart a new history when it comes to public safety and change how it polices the city. And the opportunity is one that those in charge cannot afford to miss.

Still, the problems of today can’t wait.

At Independence City Hall, two very important positions — city manager and police chief — must be filled with people who believe in 21st-century policing and best practices as recommended by the International Association of Chiefs of Police. Residents will soon have an opportunity to vote for a new mayor, too. Mayor Rory Rowland will not seek reelection next year, according to reports. Whoever runs for that seat must make public safety reform a priority.

And that starts by looking at the Independence Police Department’s policies regarding use-of-force incidents, police pursuits, transparency and more.

The need for change became much more evident after two recent on-duty incidents involving Independence police officers that ended with violent deaths.

Deadly incidents

On Aug. 31, Independence officers fatally shot 68-year-old Gary K. Cusick of Independence. Detectives from the Lee’s Summit, Grandview and Blue Springs police departments — a multi-police agency task force known as the Police Involved Incident Team of Eastern Jackson County — were investigating the deadly shooting.

According to Lee’s Summit Police Sgt. Chis Depue, Cusick brandished a weapon before officers shot him. Officers involved in that incident were placed on leave, per department policy, according to Independence Police Department officials.

But, as of Thursday, we still don’t know the names, rank or years of service of the officers involved, a practice enacted by other police departments across the country to foster greater transparency and accountability.

Omaha police do this. Independence police and other area law enforcement agencies should, too.

I sent an email to Independence police officer Bryan Conley, a spokesman for the department, asking for an update of the officers’ status but had not heard back as of Thursday afternoon.

In another incident, a deadly police pursuit in Independence that could have and should have been avoided ended in the death of a fleeing suspect. The Aug. 30 pursuit reportedly began because of a hit-and-run accident with a light pole and ended with the suspect being fatally struck by a motorist on Interstate 70 after he abandoned his vehicle and fled on foot.

No one knows at this point why the suspect ran from officers to begin with. Only the Lord knows what possessed him to exit his vehicle on the interstate and take off running.

But in a city equipped with traffic cameras, automated license plate readers and other technological advances, surely this suspect could have been apprehended without a pursuit. Police should not chase someone whose only alleged crime was hitting a light pole and splitting it in half, according to news reports.

As of Thursday, the man’s name hadn’t been released.

Police pursuits at any cost

The pre-Labor Day pursuit illustrates Independence police officers’ aggressive inclination to pursue and capture suspects at any and all costs. The callous approach to policing is a real threat to public safety. And costly.

Since April 2019, Independence has paid out more than $3.88 million to settle lawsuits involving police pursuits that ended in crashes with innocent bystanders, according to a 2024 investigation by The Kansas City Star.

As it stands today, the Independence Police Department’s vehicle pursuit policy allows officers to chase drivers for any offense, including relatively minor traffic violations. That must change.

A more reasonable and acceptable policy would allow these pursuits to begin only if a violent crime has been committed, as recommended by policy group Police Executive Research Forum. A 2023 report from PERF found that the vast majority of pursuits initiated from traffic and property offenses.

“Consistently, research shows that traffic violations and stolen cars are the primary reasons for pursuits, with those involving violent crimes hovering around 10% of all pursuits,” the report states. “The data, while underreported, indicates that at least one person loses their life daily as a result of a pursuit.

This includes officers, members of the public (including those in the fleeing vehicle), and the fleeing suspects.”

The report concluded: “Research from various agencies suggests that 30-45% of pursuits culminate in a crash.”

In Independence, city and police officials don’t have to look that far for a model to pattern its policy after. Grandview police can pursue a criminal suspect only for a violent felony, according to The Star’s investigation on this topic. In 2022, Independence police engaged in more chases, leading to more wrecks, than any other department in the metro area, The Star reported.

Last year, former Police Chief Adam Dustman told The Star that he stood by the department’s pursuit policy, which allows officers to chase a vehicle for any infraction if they believe a suspect is avoiding arrest. It’s reasonable to believe with better policies in place, these sorts of fatal police chases would more than likely decrease.

Dustman is no longer in charge. After months on leave, he resigned from the department in August amid turmoil and internal strife, The Star reported. Deputy Chief Jason Peterson will continue to lead the department until a permanent chief is found.

But that opening will not be filled permanently until a replacement is found for outgoing City Manager Zach Walker, according to spokeswoman Rebecca Gannon. Walker recently announced that he will leave next month to become city manager of Bloomington, Minnesota, according to The Star.

According to Gannon, the process to hire a search firm to lead the search for Walker’s replacement began Sept. 2, but the timeline to fill the position was unknown at this time. Whoever is named city manager will select the new police chief.

“The next City Manager will be responsible for hiring the next permanent Chief of Police,” Gannon wrote in an email.

In the past, The Star Editorial Board has been critical of police agencies that allow pursuits for minor offenses — and that will not likely change. We’ve long held that high-speed pursuits were extremely dangerous and costly to taxpayers who covered the brunt of the settlements associated with these chases.

In Independence, a new way of policing that includes more transparency and fewer police chases and use-of-force incidents could go a long way in restoring a sense of trust with police in that city.

This story was originally published September 5, 2025 at 5:56 AM.