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

I don’t really know what to make of the Board of Police Commissioners’ selection today of Maj. Stacey Graves to be the new chief at KCPD.

Maybe she will turn out to be revolutionary and have more guts than any of the previous insiders, who have monopolized the chief’s job since the late Joseph McNamara served from 1973 to 1976. Or maybe she will just talk about significant change, which the department is crying out for, and make superficial changes.

One thing that is clear, however, is that the four police board members appointed by the governor engineered the selection so that the insider would be the obvious choice.

One thing obviously working for her was her gender. The 25-year KCPD veteran will be the first woman police chief in Kansas City. That fact alone made her appealing, and, I grant, her ascendance is laudable.

But the two other finalists, DeShawn Beaufort of the Philadelphia Police Department and Scott Ebner, a retired commander from the New Jersey State Police, had significant questions hanging over them. Beaufort had been involved in a never-publicly-explained road-rage case in Philly, and Ebner was the object of two ongoing gender- and disability-discrimination lawsuits in New Jersey.

One of the reasons the two outside candidates were relatively weak, I believe, is that Missouri law sets the salary for the Kansas City police chief at no more than $189,700. (This is just one of myriad problems with state control of KCPD, but my hand hurts from writing so much about that.)

The Star quoted Darron Edwards, a civic activist and pastor, as saying, “Most top-notch, national-caliber candidates will require more than $189K to even consider a city like KCMO. When you compare (that) Wichita pays $225K, it’s embarrassing to be the largest city in Missouri with a non-competitive salary offer. The processes are designed to always choose an internal candidate.”

If Wichita is paying $225,000, Kansas City should be paying $275,000 or more. Then we’d see some top-tier, external candidates.

By process of elimination, then, the insider stood out. And that’s surely the way the police board — and maybe the rank and file — wanted it.

Now, I certainly congratulate Graves, wish her the best and hope she turns out to be the change agent this department has needed for many years. But I’m not extremely hopeful.

One thing that struck me was the reaction of Brad Lemon, president of Fraternal Order of Police union in KC, who told The Star:

“The conversation around her is that she’s very open to changes and very open to looking at our department internally and trying to see what are the things that we can fix as fast as we can fix them. What I see happening probably are some major changes happen quickly. And I think for the most part, our rank and file needs to see that.”

This comes from a guy who has helped build a veritable wall around uniformed officers, including a clause in their contract that allows officers involved in critical incidents, such as shootings, two full working days to collect themselves — or, in the alternative, devise a credible story — before they have to give a statement or submit to an interview by superiors.

So, Brad Lemon talking about wanting significant change? Ha. I suspect disingenuity. I think he and most of his fellow union members would be happy with things just the way they are, with the union continuing to earn more concessions at the bargaining table.

More credible was the reaction of Gwen Grant, president and CEO of the Urban League of Greater Kansas City, who told The Star she was disappointed that the board hired someone promoted by former Chief Rick Smith, who had ZERO credibility with the Black community and who took an oath to serve the community but was focused exclusively on defending the department and officers’ actions, regardless of how inappropriate some of those actions were.

“This is yet another indication that this State appointed board is not representative of our community and it is not committed to acting in our best interests,” Grant said in a statement. “Maybe this will be the catalyst for all sectors of our community to come together to get local control.”

To the prospect of local control, I say fat chance but we can always hope.

**

Make no mistake, significant change is badly needed. This department has fallen a long way, little by little, in recent decades. It used to be an excellent department, from my perspective, and there still are many, many outstanding officers. I personally had a tremendous experience with an outstanding officer after our daughter was involved in a wreck a few years ago. He was understanding, measured and reasonable.

The problem is that uniformed officers have been led by commanders, including chiefs, who have been unwilling to insist on high standards and to hold rogue officers accountable.

Here are two specific examples of worrisome problems…

:: A few years ago it came to light that several officers in the children’s division decided they’d really rather not work. Instead they stuffed evidence in their desks and sat on cases, ignoring them for months, while children who had been the victims of crime — and their families — were left hanging. Eventually, seven officers in the children’s unit lost their jobs. Several others were transferred, and some were busted and put back on patrol duty.

I’d like to know what’s going on now in the children’s division. It hasn’t been in the news since the outrages came to light. We’ve got to assume it’s better, but who really knows? To the best of my knowledge, KCPD never talked about a turnabout there; the story just melted away.

:: In the recent David Jungerman murder trial, the defense exposed several violations of proper procedures by the homicide unit. Among other things, lead detective Bonita Cannon admitted that she had not included a voice recorder — on which Jungerman admitted to killing attorney Thomas Pickert — on an inventory list she prepared and submitted after the search. She also admitted to retrieving a computerized report after it had been submitted, and then correcting it, instead of filing a supplemental report, which would have been the appropriate remedy.

Fortunately, Jungerman was clearly guilty, and the jury convicted him within two hours. In a close case, however, the investigative errors could have been the difference between conviction and acquittal.

Well, Stacy Graves is our new chief. I hope she emerges as a strong and courageous advocate for significant change. It would be great for Kansas City.