The Kansas City Police Department (KCPD) is the principal
law enforcement agency
A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws.
Jurisdiction
LEAs which have their ability to apply their powers restricted in some way are said to operate within a jurisdiction.
LEAs ...
serving
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...
.
Jackson County 16th Circuit Court Circuit Court Judge
Jen Phillips swore in Stacey Graves as the 46th chief of police of the KCPD on December 15, 2022. Graves, who served as head of the KCPD's Shoal Creek Patrol Division,
became the city's 46th police chief on December 15, 2022.
History
The Kansas City Police Department was founded in 1874.
George Caleb Bingham
George Caleb Bingham (March 20, 1811 – July 7, 1879) was an American artist, soldier and politician known in his lifetime as "the Missouri Artist". Initially a Whig Party (United States), Whig, he was elected as a delegate to the Missouri legisl ...
was the first president of the Board of Police Commissioners. The first Chief was Thomas M. Speers. From its inception the department was under the control of the Commissioners, appointed by the Missouri governor. In 1932 the police department came under local control for the first time during the
Pendergast era
Pendergast ( ga, de Piondárgas, ''Piondárgas'') is a Norman-Irish surname derived from Prendergast.
Pendergast may refer to:
*Aloysius Pendergast, character in novels by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child.
*Clancy Pendergast (born 1967), Americ ...
. After significant corruption the Board was reinstated and around half of employees fired. Following the St. Louis police return to home rule in 2013, Kansas City is the only major city in the country without local control of the police department.
The
Kansas City preventive patrol experiment
The Kansas City preventive patrol experiment was a landmark experiment carried out between 1972 and 1973 by the Kansas City Police Department of Kansas City, Missouri. It was evaluated by the Police Foundation
The National Policing Institute, f ...
was a landmark experiment carried out between 1972 and 1973 by the Kansas City Police Department. It was evaluated by the
Police Foundation
The National Policing Institute, formerly known as the Police Foundation, is an American non-profit organization dedicated to advancing policing through innovation and independent scientific research. It is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. ...
. It was designed to test the assumption that the presence (or potential presence) of police officers in marked cars reduced the likelihood of a crime being committed. It was the first study to demonstrate that research into the effectiveness of different policing styles could be carried out responsibly and safely.
KCPD is the largest city police agency in Missouri, based on number of employees, city population, and geographic area served.
The first black police chief of the KCPD is Darryl Forté who led the KCPD from 2011 to 2017. during his tenure, he sought to rectify racial problems within the department.
From 2017 to 2022, the KCPD was led by Rick Smith, whose tenure was controversial.
In 2019, when a white officer shot a black man, Smith was heard in a video recording on the scene of the shooting describing the victim as a "bad guy."
The white officer was later convicted to six years of prison for involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action.
Racism
A 2022 investigation by the ''Kansas City Star'' found that there was rampant racism inside the KCPD. Current and former KCPD officers alleged that there was systematic racism and discrimination within the department which forced black officers out of the department.
In 2022, the department had fewer black officers than it did decades ago.
Controversies
Ryan Stokes killed 2013
In 2013, Ryan Stokes was fatally shot in the back during a foot chase in the Power and Light District after it was reported that he stole a mobile phone. The officer that fired his weapon was initially awarded a certificate of commendation that was later revoked after it was discovered that some accounts of the incident were inaccurate. A federal court ruled the officer is entitled to qualified immunity from a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the victim's family, as it was judged that the officer concluded he was in imminent danger despite Stokes being unarmed.
Cameron Lamb killed 2019
Cameron Lamb was fatally shot by an officer while reversing his truck into a backyard garage following helicopter reports of a traffic disturbance in 2019. The officer involved was charged with involuntary manslaughter.
Black Lives Matter protests 2020
A viral video in 2020 circulated on Twitter showing KCPD officers assaulting nonviolent protesters, bringing national attention to the department.
Two officers were indicted in 2020 for felony assault committed during an arrest for trespassing that was recorded in a widely shared video. The videographer was ticketed and convicted of failure to obey a lawful order after being told to stop recording; he was later pardoned by the mayor.
During the
2020 George Floyd protests, KCPD fired chemical agents, such as pepper spray, at protesters. In wake of these
crowd control measures, civil rights groups have called for the resignation of Chief Smith, who defended the officers' actions. An activist who was arrested after stepping off the sidewalk is suing the officers who used pepper spray on him and his daughter for excessive force. An officer involved was later charged with misdemeanor assault for spraying pepper spray in the teen's face. Over 150 protesters were arrested during the summer's events and all non-violent charges were dropped by city council ordinance.
Board of Commissioners
The Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners is responsible for the operation of the KCPD. The Board sets policy, makes promotions, holds both closed and open meetings and coordinates with the
Chief of Police
Chief may refer to:
Title or rank
Military and law enforcement
* Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force
* Chief of police, the head of a police department
* Chief of the boa ...
in providing police services to the citizens. Four of the five members of the board are selected by the governor of the state of Missouri, following approval of the Missouri legislature, with the mayor serving as the fifth member. Commissioners serve four year terms, however they serve at the pleasure of the governor and can be replaced.
Rank structure
The Rank Structure of the Kansas City Missouri Police Department is as follows:
Equipment
The main sidearm used by the KCMO PD is the
Glock 22
Glock is a brand of polymer- framed, short recoil-operated, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H. The firearm entered Austrian military and police service by 1982 after it was the ...
or
Glock 23
Glock is a brand of polymer- framed, short recoil-operated, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H. The firearm entered Austrian military and police service by 1982 after it was th ...
both in
.40 S&W. Officers also had the choice of choosing the
Smith & Wesson Sigma but that is no longer chosen by officers as was the S&W 4026 (Smith & Wesson Model 4006)
.40 S&W which had the KCMO PD Badge and KCPD engraved on the slide.
KCPD currently owns and operates three
MD 500 helicopters, purchased in 2012. There is a heliport and maintenance facility on Manchester Trafficway, near the Truman Sports Complex. The helicopter unit began in 1967 with three
Schweizer S300
The Schweizer S300 series (formerly Hughes 300, Schweizer 300, and Sikorsky S-300) family of light utility helicopters was originally produced by Hughes Helicopters, as a development of the Hughes 269. Later manufactured by Schweizer Aircraft, ...
rotocraft.
In 2016 a helicopter made an emergency landing on a northeast Kansas City street after experiencing a mechanical problem.
Media
The Tactical Response Teams of KCPD was featured in
A&E's reality series ''Kansas City SWAT''.
The Kansas City, Missouri Police Department has been portrayed in numerous episodes of the television show
COPS.
The Homicide Unit of the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department was portrayed in the A&E Network's documentary series entitled ''
The First 48
''The First 48'' is an American documentary/news magazine television series on A&E filmed in various cities in the United States, offering an insider's look at the real-life world of homicide investigators. While the series often follows the in ...
''.
See also
*
List of law enforcement agencies in Missouri
This is a list of law enforcement agencies in the state of Missouri.
According to the US Bureau of Justice Statistics' 2008 ''Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies,'' the state had 576 law enforcement agencies employing 14,554 sworn ...
References
{{Portal bar, United States
Municipal police departments of Missouri
Government of Kansas City, Missouri