Rick Smith is the progressive professional the Kansas City Police Department needs

My 40 years in law enforcement have given me the unique opportunity to observe many local police departments and to evaluate the quality of a department’s leadership. Twenty-eight years of that career were spent as a U.S. Secret Service agent. In that capacity, I partnered with police departments all across the United States and in multiple foreign countries by working with them in the most important, high-profile settings, protecting U.S. presidents, vice presidents and other world leaders.

When I was transferred to Kansas City from Washington, D.C., I was surprised that this so-called “medium-sized city” could have one of the most progressive, professional and dedicated police departments I had ever seen. Recent events in our community and the public criticism directed toward Police Chief Rick Smith and the Kansas City Police Department have not changed my mind about the quality of this organization.

The training police officers receive as recruits and throughout their careers is essential to the overall effectiveness of their interactions with the public. I have noticed that Kansas City, unlike many other cities, has not had the type of shocking incidents that have made national headlines. I attribute much of this to both the strict citizen engagement policies implemented by the department (such as car chase restrictions and use-of-force policies) along with de-escalation and crisis intervention training. In 2018, Smith implemented crisis intervention training for all patrol officers and sergeants as a method of preventing these types of incidents.

Additionally, all Kansas City police officers undergo almost two full weeks of training on issues involving tactical communication, cultural diversity and handling aggressive behavior. Officers also receive recurring training in mental health awareness and crisis de-escalation. This training provides our community with a police department that is well equipped to properly handle many of the situations that can escalate rapidly and have resulted in unfortunate outcomes in other communities.

Prior to becoming chief of police, Smith was the major overseeing the Central Patrol Division. During that time, he created an innovative program to incorporate social workers to work in the area as a part of the services provided by law enforcement to assist the community with solving many of the problems that plague most underprivileged neighborhoods.

This program was successful in helping Kansas Citians deal with societal problems that are outside of the role of law enforcement and by limiting negative police encounters. Smith then adopted this model citywide when he became police chief. Ironically, I am now seeing leaders in many cities suggesting this very idea for their own communities. Smith proved to be a forward-thinking pioneer by implementing this program.

I have heard numerous criticisms of Smith and his department for their response to the recent demonstrations on the Country Club Plaza. For example, we hear claims that officers used chemical weapons against peaceful demonstrators. I know firsthand that some of these so-called “peaceful” demonstrators were assaulting your own Kansas City police. Numerous officers were injured by bricks, exploding fireworks and frozen bottles of liquid thrown at them. Some were seriously injured.

No reasonable resident of this community should consider such a situation acceptable. The so-called “chemical weapons” were not actually weapons but a non-lethal irritant — tear gas — meant to deter further injury to officers and to disperse the crowd with the goal of de-escalating the situation. Police officers were not assaulting the demonstrators; some demonstrators were assaulting our police officers.

Interestingly, after a few nights of demonstrations, Smith had the novel idea to remove the line of officers, thereby reducing their direct presence and minimizing the opportunity for engagement between police and the demonstrators, which totally de-escalated the violent confrontations. Frankly, I was amazed at this concept. I had never seen this done before, and I would never have believed such a tactic would succeed. However, this decision created an environment that allowed for truly peaceful demonstrations. Smith made the right decision, and he deserves the appreciation of our community.

Smith has also been faulted for the climbing homicide rate in Kansas City. In all of my years in law enforcement, my experience has shown that a police department has limited, if any, control over a city’s homicide rate. As an illustration, I was in Quebec, Canada, last year and discovered that the homicide rate in Quebec City, a city with a population comparable to Kansas City’s, is almost zero. Only three homicides occurred in 2018. However, that’s not because the Quebec City police force is the best department in the world, but because homicide rates are driven by community behavior, not policing.

Police departments must react to homicides but can rarely prevent them. The residents of Kansas City must understand that the police and Smith are not responsible for the increasing number of homicides in Kansas City.

I find the recent criticism of Smith and his officers shallow and often uninformed. Under his leadership, the police department remains one of the best in the United States. His experience, wisdom and dedication are often unnoticed by the general public, but I recognize quality in law enforcement when I see it. Our Kansas City Police Department remains a well trained and professional organization of which we can be proud. Our community should support it and be thankful for the leadership of Police Chief Rick Smith. I am personally asking him not to resign.

This story was originally published July 16, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Rick Smith is the progressive professional the Kansas City Police Department needs."