Whatever minor offense Marina Bischoff may have committed on May 27 hardly compares to what the Kansas City Police Department did to her the next day.
The day before she disappeared, Bischoff, a 39-year-old social worker at Children’s Mercy Hospital, was arrested on suspicion of driving while impaired and leaving the scene of a crash after she drove into someone’s yard in Kansas City, North. She left the car but then came back to it when she saw police approaching.
She wasn’t carrying a cellphone, car keys or a wallet. (The keys and phone were found several days later in some woods.)
Marina Bischoff
Police took her to the Shoal Creek station on N.E. Pleasant Valley Road, west of Interstate 435. They kept her overnight but early the next morning began processing her for release on a signature bond.
She made several calls from the station. About 7 a.m., the cops turned her loose — without a car, without a phone, without a wallet, without a ride.
Now, maybe she assured them somebody was going to pick her up somewhere near the station, but, whatever the case, no one at the police station cared enough or had enough sense to insist that she stay put until someone showed up to get her.
So, she walked off.
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Her brother, who lives in Texas, said she never drank but suffered from depression and that before the May 27 incident she had seemed to become consumed with fears about Coronavirus testing and PPE shortages at Children’s Mercy.
And yet, Victor Bischoff said, the actions that led to her arrest seemed “completely uncharacteristic” of her. “It feels to me like something was really wrong and I don’t know what happened to get her to that state,” he told The Star.
When Marina Bischoff left the station, a police department news release said, she did not seem impaired and was “deemed…competent to be released.”
She was wearing a black shirt and blue jeans.
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She was last seen — police didn’t say by whom — about an hour and a half later on Pleasant Valley Road between Searcy Creek Parkway and North Crystal Avenue. (North Crystal Avenue is on the east side of Interstate 435; the police station and Searcy Creek Parkway are on the west side.)
Police said it appeared she was waiting for a ride.
In July, human remains were found in nearby Shoal Creek. On Friday, a police spokesman said the remains were those of Bischoff.
(I don’t know exactly were she was last seen or at what part of Shoal Creek her remains were found, but it appears everything occurred within about a mile of the police station.)
Contacted by The Star, Victor Bischoff said he felt officers had lacked compassion and common sense when they allowed his sister to leave the police station. “It’s just a pure disaster,” Bischoff said. “No compassion, no thought, no care.”
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This case reflects more than a lack of common sense; it’s unfathomable. How could officers (several had to have been involved in the decision) have just let her walk away with nothing but the shirt on her back and the jeans on her legs?
Wouldn’t it be logical for any and all officers to conclude — instantly, without discussion — “You’re not leaving here until somebody shows up to get you.”
As we’ve heard many people say many times in recent months, with all the protests after the George Floyd murder, “The police are supposed to protect and serve.” They’re not supposed to kill people involved in minor dust-ups, and, by the same token, they’re not supposed to turn loose someone who is obviously disturbed and temporarily disconnected.
As I’ve said before, I used to think Kansas City had a good police department. It has sunk so far it is almost unbelievable.
This is just one more example of how KCPD has completely lost direction and why the current chief, Rick Smith, who has no relationship whatsoever with the Black community and who didn’t adequately control his officers during the protests on the Plaza, is unfit to lead.
And beyond that, it’s another example of how bad things have become with a bunch of Republicans, appointed by Republican governors, overseeing the police department. (The only member of the five-member Board of Police Commissioners who is not appointed by the governor is the mayor.)
Every day, it is increasingly clear how far the police department has descended under state control. Departmental leadership seems to have no idea what to do to combat the sky-high homicide rate, and the police union is untouchable and wields so much political clout that Mayor Quinton Lucas cowers in a corner for fear they won’t endorse him for re-election in three years.
If union leaders cared about the department, instead of just themselves, they would push for local control because, at this point, the department appears to be close to incompetent.
The death of Marina Bischoff, a woman who had a good life, a good job and was loved by many people — is on the hands of KCPD. Police didn’t shoot her; they just killed her with dereliction.
JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC 
Fitz, very informative and sad story about Marina Bischoff. Something tells me little, if anything, has been done to investigate WHY DID THIS TRAGEDY HAPPEN? You accuse the KCPD of dereliction. I think their actions (or lack of action) something much worse…like murder. We often think police brutality is only directed toward young black males. Here is a situation that illustrates a bad police force shows no boundaries of race, sex, or age. Pitiful!
We need to help them get back to “to serve and protect.” They need to be asking themselves, periodically, “How am I serving and protecting this person?”
Great point, Bill…Your comment goes to the heart of how important it is for all of us — whether we’re working or not — to think about what we’re doing and what our roles are as human beings, and not just float unreflectingly through each day.
This here is a clear case of why police departments shouldn’t be defunded and, if anything, should be funded at a higher level so that these departments will also include some social workers for lack of a better description of what they would be doing. Yes, for some cops P.D. work is just a job. You put in your time and at the end of the day you go home, unmoved by the individual circumstances and emotionally detached from the people out on the street you have been dealing with during the day. Can Trump fix the problem? No. Can Biden fix the problem? No. The problem will be only be solved by “heart surgery” of a spiritual nature.
Patty said the same thing last night, Rick — get some social workers into the mix. Good comment otherwise, too.
Is there even proof she was legally under the influence?
Thank you for covering this story. It is so sad that Marina’s life ended this way. The police needed to have been diligent in seeing this woman had a safe ride home.
I take issue with you blaming a political party for a police department. I am sorry for the loss. However, several police departments that have Democratic leadership were a disaster. Please focus on the issue and the lack of responsibility. This is not political, this is a person’s life. A tragedy.
Thank you for covering this deplorable neglect to serve and protect by KCPD and KCMO leadership. Marina’s vanishing and death deserves more transparency, investigation and coverage beyond the Paris on the Plains newspaper (KC Star) pay wall. Listen to coverage at the following link (for free) http://www.thevanishedpodcast.com/episodes/2020/8/24/episode-241-marina-bischoff .