JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC

In a world full of bad news, we have some good news locally: Tomorrow is Police Chief Rick Smith’s last day in office.

I can’t wait to see him in the rear view mirror — and then not see him ever again. Let’s hope he doesn’t end up with some cushy job like president of the Metropolitan Crime Commission.

His nearly five years as chief have been a certifiable disaster. Consider…

• The department’s reputation has slipped badly on his watch.
• He has unconditionally supported rogue and reckless officers.
• He has ignored Kansas City’s east side and worsened the divide between the department and the Black community.
• He has refused to cooperate with Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker on internal affairs cases where officers deserved to be scrutinized for possible criminal violations of people’s rights.

Let’s look at a couple of the outrageous, specific things he has done.

Minutes after a now-convicted Kansas City police detective fatally shot Cameron Lamb in December 2019, Smith was captured on audio saying “Everyone is good, house is clear. Bad guy’s dead.”

It would have been fine if he’d stopped after the first sentence. But no, Smith, siding as usual with his officers assumed the person who was shot was necessarily in the wrong.

Last November, a Jackson County judge later disagreed, finding Det. Eric DeValkenaere guilty of involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action when he fatally shot Lamb, who was Black, in his garage.

DeValkenaere, who is White, was sentenced to three years for manslaughter and three years for armed criminal action. The terms are to be served concurrently, so, unless he prevails on appeal, he will serve at least some prison time, maybe a couple of years.

Then, very recently, The Star reported that Smith was not acting out of genuine concern for human rights when he knelt at Mill Creek Park with Mayor Quinton Lucas and citizens who were protesting the police killing of George Floyd in Minnesota.

Star reporters talked with departmental commanders who were at a meeting with Smith last year, when he said, “I may be doing things or saying things, and that may not be my personal beliefs, but I’m gonna do what I need to do that’s best for the department.”

In other words, back the blue regardless of whether they are in the right…or, in the alternative, committing second-degree murder, which a jury found Officer Derek Chauvin guilty of in Floyd’s death.

**
Now, on to Nick Haines…I was stopped cold when I got an email from Kansas City PBS, Channel 19, on Sunday, saying that Haines, of “Kansas City Week in Review,” was going to have a “special edition” on Smith, airing at 7 p.m. tomorrow.

Here’s what the promo said:

“On a special edition of Week in Review, outgoing KC Police Chief Rick Smith swings by the Kansas City PBS studios. He hangs up his badge next week, but before he does, he tells all to Nick Haines.”

I was flabbergasted…”swings by” and “tells all.” What a crock of shit. What a flip way to deal with the retirement of possibly the worst chief Kansas City has ever had.

I immediately fired off an email to Haines, saying:

I hope you’re going to ask him — or, better yet, check for yourself — how much of a payout he’s walking away with. The previous chief, Darryl Forte, walked away in 2017 with a $500,000 windfall in accrued vacation, sick and comp time. Now we’ve got Smith, the most unpopular chief KC has ever had, walking away with, undoubtedly, a huge sum and a record reflecting outright racism. I hope we’ll be seeing a more somber side of you on April 22. I suggest holding the wide smiles.

I admit that “holding the wide smiles” was a bit of a cheap shot, but Haines has always reminded me of the famous, old-time actor Joe E. Brown, who was known for, to quote Wikipedia, his “enormous elastic-mouth smile.”

To his credit, pro that he is, Haines responded more than diplomatically. Here’s what he said:

“Hi Jim — Thanks for reaching out. By the way, I love your blog. In fact, it’s one of only four news related content sites I check every day just to make sure I haven’t missed an update. I’m not kidding. You have an insightful, knowledgeable take on many important issues around town and I am grateful for what you do. As for the police chief, it’s always a balancing act. My job is not to judge him but to understand him. Thanks for the advice on not too “wide a grin.” With regards to his potential retirement windfall, is that really in his control or is he just the benefactor a bad system? Also on this week’s show is Mayor Quinton Lucas. I think it would be more appropriate to direct that question to him.”

…While I applaud Haines’ professionalism, I disagree with his assertion that it’s his job “to understand him.” And I said so. I replied, saying, “There’s no need to try to understand Smith after five years. What we’ve seen and what we’ve heard…says everything.”

And in response to Haines’ suggestion that a likely windfall was the result of “a bad system,” I said: “If it’s a bad system, how else do you plant the seeds for change other than by calling it out — each and every time?”

I concluded with this…

“I don’t envy your assignment here; the guy is the turd in the punch bowl. Most of south Kansas City (meaning south of the river) — and surely all of east Kansas City — will be watching with disgust from the moment he appears.”

**

I’m sure this report will help, to some small degree, pump up viewership of Haines’ show Friday evening. But I doubt I’ll be watching. I’m not the least bit interested in a “tell-all” from a horrible, almost despicable, police chief.

Good riddance.