MINUTES OF THE
BOARD OF POLICE COMMISSIONERS MEETING
TUESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2018
A meeting of the Board of Police Commissioners of Kansas City, Missouri was held on Tuesday, August 14, 2018, at KCPD Headquarters, Community Room, 1125 Locust Street, Kansas City.
PRESENT:
Commissioner Don Wagner, Treasurer
Commissioner Mark Tolbert, Member
Mayor Sylvester “Sly” James, Jr., Member
Mr. David V. Kenner, Secretary/Attorney
Richard C. Smith, Chief of Police
ABSENT:
Commissioner Nathan Garrett, President
Commissioner Leland M. Shurin, Vice-President
This meeting was called to order at 9:32 a.m. by Commissioner Wagner. Parking Control Supervisor Rita Garcia led the Pledge of Allegiance. Chaplain Dennis Dewey provided the invocation. Mayor James arrived to the meeting at 9:35 a.m. Commissioners Garrett and Shurin had excused absences.
- Awards and Commendations. The Certificate of Appreciation was presented to Chaplain Dennis Dewey for his outstanding assistance as a Department Chaplain for the past 25 years. Since 1993, Chaplain Dewey has helped Department members through tough times of grief and stress. He has performed funerals for Department members, their family members and retirees. He has been there in happier times, as well, performing Department members’ marriage ceremonies. He also goes to the hospital when officers get seriously hurt in the line of duty. In the past 25 years, Chaplain Dewey has been remarkably available to the members of KCPD, responding whenever he is called.
The Life-Saving Award was presented to Officer Brian Arant for his life-sustaining actions during an off-duty incident. Officer Arant was eating at Rancho Grande Cantina when a baby began choking on his food. Without hesitation, Officer Arant made his way through an extremely crowded restaurant to find Baby Lane unconscious and turning blue. Officer Arant turned Lane over and began to swat his back; but his attempts were unsuccessful. He then turned Lane over to begin conducting chest compressions and then back over to swat his back again. After several moments, the food was dislodged, and Officer Arant swept Lane’s mouth to remove remnants of food, as Lane began breathing again. Officer Arant had taken the Department’s CPR in-service and subsequent testing the day before this incident, which allowed him to act without hesitation.
The Life-Saving Award was presented to Captain Ryan Mills and Officer Aaron Smith for their life-sustaining actions on December 10, 2017, at Arrowhead Stadium. Captain Mills was patrolling the parking lot after the Chiefs’ victory over the Raiders when he saw a man fall to the ground unconscious. That man was James Grimmett of Coffeyville, Kansas. Captain Mills alerted Officer Smith, and both came over to check on Mr. Grimmett. His pulse quit, and then he stopped breathing. Officer Smith started CPR while Captain Mills called for an ambulance and got medical information from Grimmett’s family. When the paramedics arrived, they took over CPR and used an automated external defibrillator – or AED – before transporting him to the hospital. Captain Mills went to check on Mr. Grimmett the next day and learned that he had gone into cardiac arrest. He was still in critical condition at that time. KCFD EMS Assistant Division Chief Paul Paikowski wrote, “There is no doubt this patient survived due to the prompt actions of these two officers.” Mr. Grimmett has made a full recovery and drove all the way to Kansas City to attend the meeting.
Mr. Grimmett presented Captain Ryan Mills and Officer Aaron Smith with Life-Saving Awards. He thanked both officers for their quick actions that saved his life, and thanked the Department for their service to the City.
The Meritorious Service Award was presented to Detective Aaron Fisher and Analyst Darin Lee. Upon beginning the WatchKC program, Analyst Lee and Detective Fisher discussed how to compile the locations of the cameras, as well as how a citizen who wanted to provide a camera could do so. As the project began to unfold, they conducted research to see if a product already existed to satisfy the required needs. A potential solution was found at crimereports.com by using their “register your camera” feature; however, they required a very costly upgraded analytics package at a cost of $22,500 per year. Analyst Lee and Detective Fisher designed a two-part process to aid detectives. In phase 1, Detective Fisher entered into a database the location of all cameras the Real Time Crime Center has access to and can be viewed in real time or historically. Analyst Lee then used that database of information to map the location and contact information for the Real Time Crime Center for detectives to view from any web platform. In phase 2, residents and business owners were invited to register their camera location and contact information with KCPD, so that information could be added to the WatchKC database and map. Detective Fisher developed a Google form to accept registration and linked it to the Department’s website. Analyst Lee used the information from the registrants in the database to add those locations, with embedded contact information to the map that is accessible to detectives.
The process of development was long; however, both Analyst Lee and Detective Fisher were integral to the WatchKC program, and it went live in December 2017. In the first three months, more than 420 registrations were accepted with contact information of more than 1,000 cameras. Because of the work of Analyst Lee and Detective Fisher, the Department now has a system that helps detectives save time, work more effectively and efficiently, while simultaneously saving thousands of dollars. The program has shown the public that KCPD takes a proactive approach to solving crime, and has helped build relationships across the City.
The Certificates of Appreciation were presented to Independence Police Officers Joseph Gentile and Brian Hanrahan, and the Certificates of Commendation were presented to Sergeant Lawrence Weimhold and Officers DeAngelo Dotson, Landon Hartley, John Mahoney, Chase Kuehl, Timothy Trost, and Kevin Guier. Shortly after 10:30 p.m. on March 19, 2018, in the 4700 block of Ridgeway Avenue, Sergeant Weimhold and Officers Hartley, Dotson, Mahoney and Guier arrived at a call of a prowler. Upon arrival, they encountered a family of innocent victims who had just undergone a terrifying experience.
An unknown man, armed with a knife, confronted a 51-year-old woman inside her house. He tied her up with a cord from a hair dryer and covered her face with a sweatshirt. He proceeded to ransack her house and put any items of value in the family’s Ford Escape. While doing so, the suspect told the woman, “I picked you at random because you have a Ford Escape, and I’m trying to escape my nightmare life.” He asked her how far it was to Kansas, and said he needed money to help treat his baby’s congenital heart disease. He then said he didn’t want to hurt anyone, but would if he had to. Then he demanded to know where she kept all of their cash and electronics.
At that time, the woman’s husband got home from walking their dog. The suspect confronted him with the knife, and told him his wife was tied up and they wouldn’t get hurt if they cooperated. The suspect then took the husband into a different room where he bound him with athletic tape and covered his head with a bag. The suspect asked where the family kept guns. The man said they didn’t have any, but the suspect found a shotgun and very angrily demanded to know where the rest of the guns were. For the next hour and a half, the suspect terrorized the bound-up husband and wife as he rummaged through their house.
The couple’s 23-year-old son and his friend got home from work. The noticed the Escape was parked in the yard, which was odd. When they went up to the SUV, the suspect was inside and armed with a hammer. He robbed them of their cell phones and a backpack. He told them, “your mom is inside, and I have her tied up. You still have time to save her.” He then drove away.
The son ran to the house, which had been locked up. He broke a window to get inside to his parents and call the police. The officers on scene made several attempts to track the stolen iPhones and iPads. Officer Guier was able to track the father’s Android phone to an intersection in Independence. Officer Mahoney realized the address was near him and asked for assistance from Independence Officers to locate the stolen SUV. Independence Officers located the stolen SUV in a hotel parking lot. Officers Kuehl and Trost joined them to assist in approaching the vehicle. The Officers took the suspect into custody without incident, and located all of the family’s stolen items. The suspect is currently awaiting trial on numerous counts of robbery, kidnapping, burglary and armed criminal action.
The Board took a recess at 9:52 a.m. The meeting resumed at 10:00 a.m.
- FY 2017-18 Resident Satisfaction Survey Results. Kate Bender and Julie Steenson, from the Office of Performance Management, presented the 2017-18 Resident Satisfaction Survey results. Ms. Bender explained that the survey gives an opportunity to measure outcomes of the City services, identify differences between demographic or user groups, and gauge citizen’s relative priorities for different services. Ms. Bender detailed the citizen feedback regarding police service throughout the City. She explained that police services ranked number two in importance on the residents’ priority scale, falling just behind the streets, sidewalks and infrastructure category. According to the survey, 60% of members in the community were satisfied/very satisfied with police service in the City, 25% were neutral, and 15% were dissatisfied/very dissatisfied; 33% of residents are satisfied with the City’s overall efforts to prevent crime, 40% are satisfied with the visibility of police presence in neighborhoods, 44% are satisfied with the response times of police in emergency situations, 55% are satisfied with the effectiveness of local police protection, 48% are satisfied with the enforcement of local travel laws and 44% are satisfied with the parking enforcement services.
- Councilperson Alissia Canady. Councilperson Alissia Canady spoke about the Resident Survey results. She noted that only 33% of residents are satisfied with the City’s overall crime reduction efforts; therefore, she views it as an opportunity for the City and Department to increase their community engagement efforts to address the ongoing violent crime. There has been a recent surge of gun violence throughout the City in the past few weeks. She noted that the locations of recent homicides and other gun related crimes have expanded from the urban core, and has become a City-wide problem. She noted that the public health approach to violent crime has been only partly used in Kansas City.
- Chief Richard C. Smith. Chief Richard Smith also spoke about the recent surge in violent crime across the City the past few weeks. He advised that Department members have been challenged with the severely increased workload, but are continuing to investigate and work each scene diligently. Detectives and Crime Scene Technicians have been putting in long hours and are being called in on their scheduled days off. He thanked the members for their continuous hard work.
Chief Smith advised that the Department was a recipient of the Crime Gun Intelligence Center Grant. This award
amounts to $1 million, and is being used to hire three forensic technicians at the Crime Lab.
- Public Comments. Mr. John Sharp invited the Board and Command Staff to the South Kansas City Alliance’s 3rd Annual Awards Breakfast on the morning of August 23, 2018, at Avila University. He advised that Officer Brian Arant, Officer Eric Williams, and the Department’s South Patrol Division will receive awards at the event. Mr. Sharp shared photos from various South Patrol Division community outreach events, such as their Ex-Offender Hiring Fair, Health Fair and Movie Nights.
Mr. Sharp thanked Chief Smith for his support in raising the TIPS Hotline Reward from $5,000 to $10,000.
- Approval of minutes. A motion was made by Mayor James, with a second by Commissioner Tolbert, to approve the minutes of the open meeting on July 10, 2018. The vote was 3-0 in favor.
- Executive Services Bureau. Deputy Chief Roger Lewis presented the following items for Board approval:
a. Budget Transfers for Fiscal Year 2018-19. A memorandum dated July 31, 2018, was presented to recommend approval of budget transfers. This budget transfer will affect the Police Grants Fund and the Grants Special Revenue Fund.
A motion was made by Commissioner Tolbert, with a second by Mayor James, to approve the budget transfers as presented.
The vote was 3-0 in favor.
b. Work Zone Program Order #CWZEG04Z. A memorandum dated August 14, 2018, was presented to recommend acceptance of the Work Zone Program Order #CWZEG04Z, in the amount of $71,925.00, effective July 1, 2018 through December 31, 2019. The purpose of this agreement is to provide funding for overtime that is worked to increase safety and deter accidents in work zones.
A motion was made by Commissioner Tolbert, with a second by Mayor James, to approve acceptance of the Work Zone Program Order #CWZEG04Z in the amount of $71,925.00. The vote was 3-0 in favor.
Deputy Chief Lewis advised that the Forensic Logic/Coplink Product and the Police Vehicle purchase would be presented for approval at a later date.
Deputy Chief Lewis provided an update on the Communications Unit. He advised that year-to-date, the Communications Unit has received 560,837 calls; over 323,000 of those calls were received through the 911 system. The 911 hold time for the month of July averaged 23 seconds, compared to 39 seconds at this time last year. The 911 hold time is the lowest it has been since April 2018.
Deputy Chief Lewis advised that the Communications Unit is currently staffed with 93 members, leaving 13 vacant positions. Six call taker trainees and three dispatcher trainees are completing on-the-job training. There are five call taker trainees in the classroom portion of training. A new call taker class will begin on September 4, 2018. A new dispatcher class will begin October 8, 2018.
In response to a question regarding the decrease in 911 hold times, Deputy Chief Lewis advised the the Communications Unit has adjusted the staffing schedule. The Unit is now staffed with more personnel during the hours they receive a higher call volume.
- Professional Development and Research Bureau. Deputy Chief Bob Kuehl presented the Academy Class Summary for August 2018. He advised that the 163rd Entrant Officer Class will graduate on September 6, 2018, and the 164th Entrant Officer Class will graduate on January 19, 2018. The next Academy class is expected to begin in October 2018.
Deputy Chief Kuehl spoke about the Back to School Field Day at the PAL Center. The Police Athletic League provided school supplies to 299 youth, 150 haircuts, 35 physicals, 53 pairs of tennis shoes, and college and trade school counseling. Approximately 40 applications were received from parents to enroll their children in PAL.
- Investigations Bureau. Deputy Chief David Bosworth presented the Investigations Bureau report for July 2018. Deputy Chief Bosworth advised that to-date in 2018, there have been 78 homicides, compared to 91 at this time last year. There have been 257 drive-by shootings to-date in 2018, compared to 287 at this time last year. There have been 1,253 firearms recovered Department-wide. From August 1, 2018 to August 12, 2018, there were 30 shootings, compared to 17 during that timeframe last year. The recovery of opioids has increased; methamphetamine and marijuana are on the rise.
Deputy Chief Bosworth advised that five men were indicted for nine robberies that took place in the City from June 12 through July 16, 2018. An additional two people were convicted for a total of 13 robberies that occurred in 2015.
- Administration Bureau. Deputy Chief Karl Oakman presented the Regional Criminalistics Division monthly statistics for August 2018. He advised that the Lab has reduced the total backlog. He also presented the Personnel Summary dated August 3, 2018. For this time period, Department strength is 1,294 sworn law enforcement and 546 career civilians.
Deputy Chief Oakman provided an update on recruitment efforts. In July 2018, the Academy held a five-member lateral class. The class consisted of transfers from the Gladstone, Blue Springs, Shawnee, and Kansas City, Kansas Police Departments. There are currently 178 applicants in the police officer hiring process; 70 applicants are in the background phase of the hiring process. Chief Smith noted that the Department is not seeing the same trends with trouble finding officers as many other departments are having.
Deputy Chief Oakman spoke about the Summer Youth Academy sessions. There were 117 youth, ages 12 to 15, that attended the Department’s Youth Academy. The Department looks to expand the program next year, and to add a new program for 16 to 19 year-olds.
Deputy Chief Oakman advised that the Manual Tech Career Center has reopened for the school year. The Department has placed a recruiter at the Career Center again this year. He also advised that the Department is creating a new website that will offer an online reporting system, to report crimes such as theft from autos, loss reports, and minor stealing reports. In time, the Department seeks to put kiosks in every patrol station lobby for people to report minor crimes.
In response to a question, Deputy Chief Oakman advised that the Department continues to recruit minorities. He will provide a breakdown of minorities currently in the application process at the next meeting.
- Patrol Bureau. Deputy Chief Sharon Laningham recognized Major Dan Haley and Community Interaction Officers Mary McCall and Aaron Whitehead from the South Patrol Division, for their community engagement efforts in the South Patrol Division, such as the Ex-Offender Fair and Movie Nights. Deputy Chief Laningham advised that 150 ex-offenders attended the Fair; approximately 30 vendors participated. Wal-Mart donated 25 bikes that were raffled off to assist with transportation. Vendors offered on-the-spot jobs and social services to the ex-offenders. She also advised that South Patrol recently held their third movie night of the summer. Over 300 people came to South Patrol to watch Coco on July 21st. Various businesses donated items and food for the event. Deputy Chief Laningham thanked everyone involved for their assistance to make these events successful.
Deputy Chief Laningham spoke about the 4th Annual Cowboys for Cops ride, hosted by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Posse. There were 325 riders that participated. The ride was led by the KCPD Traffic Division and Mounted Patrol Unit. The ride started in the West Bottoms, lasted approximately six miles, and concluded with a ceremony at the Liberty Memorial.
Deputy Chief Laningham presented the Monthly Crime and Offense Summary dated June 2018. Violent crimes are down 11% and property crimes are down 3%. She advised that response time for Priority 10 calls averaged 7.52 minutes, with a goal of 7.5 minutes. The response time for Priority 20 calls averaged 9.82 minutes, with a goal of 9 minutes.
Deputy Chief Laningham presented the Traffic Summary for the month of July 2018. There have been 92,966 traffic citations issued year-to-date, which is 13,000 more than this time last year. Deputy Chief Laningham advised that parking control citations totaled 3,593 for the month of July, and 18,534 year-to-date.
To-date in 2018, there have been 45 fatalities, compared to 55 at this time last year. There were eight fatalities in July 2018; four were the result of motorcycle accidents, two were the result of single-vehicle accidents and two were pedestrians.
Deputy Chief Laningham presented the July 2018 Executive Summary. Chief Smith noted that 49% of 2018 homicides have been cleared, compared to 31% in 2017.
- Commissioner Don Wagner. Commissioner Wagner advised that the Board will discuss Private Security Officer Regulations at the September Board meeting.
- Mayor Sylvester “Sly” James. Mayor James thanked the Chief, Crime Lab Personnel and Officers for their assistance with Governor Parson’s visit to Kansas City.
- Scheduled meetings.
The Board of Police Commissioners of Kansas City, Missouri has scheduled the following meetings:
September 17, 2018, 9:30 a.m., at KCPD Headquarters, Community Room, 1125 Locust, Kansas City.
October 9, 2018, 9:30 a.m., at KCPD Headquarters, Community Room, 1125 Locust, Kansas City.
November 13, 2018, 9:30 a.m., at KCPD Headquarters, Community Room, 1125 Locust, Kansas City.
December 17, 2018, 9:30 a.m., at KCPD Headquarters, Community Room, 1125 Locust, Kansas City.
January 8, 2019, 9:30 a.m., at KCPD Headquarters, Community Room, 1125 Locust, Kansas City.
February 12, 2019, 9:30 a.m., at KCPD Headquarters, Community Room, 1125 Locust, Kansas City.
March 19, 2019, 9:30 a.m., at KCPD Headquarters, Community Room, 1125 Locust, Kansas City.
April 9, 2019, 9:30 a.m., at KCPD Headquarters, Community Room, 1125 Locust, Kansas City.
May 14, 2019, 9:30 a.m., at KCPD Headquarters, Community Room, 1125 Locust, Kansas City.
June 11, 2019, 9:30 a.m., at KCPD Headquarters, Community Room, 1125 Locust, Kansas City.
July 9, 2019, 9:30 a.m., at KCPD Headquarters, Community Room, 1125 Locust, Kansas City.
A motion was made by Mayor James, with a second by Commissioner Tolbert, and by vote indicated below, to adjourn its open meeting at 11:24 a.m. and reconvene in closed session as provided in the following resolution. Following a roll call, the vote was 3-0 in favor.
RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, notice of the board meeting of the Board of Police Commissioners was given on February 21, 2018, and
WHEREAS, said notice indicated that the Board of Police Commissioners might go into closed session during said meeting, and
WHEREAS, notice of the closed meeting follows the guidelines of Section 610.020 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board of Police Commissioners go into closed session during the meeting being held on Tuesday, August 14, 2018, at KCPD Headquarters, Community Room, 1125 Locust Street, Kansas City, for the purpose of discussing personnel matters, labor negotiations, and litigation matters.
The following Commissioners were present and voted to go into closed session as follows:
Mayor Sylvester “Sly” James – Aye
Commissioner Mark Tolbert – Aye
Commissioner Don Wagner – Aye
There being a quorum present and the question of holding a closed session having received an affirmative public vote of at least three (3) members, a closed meeting was held as set forth above.
Below are the votes from the closed session of the Board of Police Commissioners meeting on August 14, 2018:
The Board went into closed session at 11:36 a.m. Commissioners Garrett and Shurin had excused absences.
1) Following a motion by Mayor James, with a second by Commissioner Tolbert, the Board voted to authorize certain settlement authority for the case styled Contreras v. Ramsey, in an amount not to exceed $___.* The vote was 3-0 in favor. Following polling, Mayor James voted Aye, Commissioner Wagner voted Aye, and Commissioner Tolbert voted Aye.
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2) Following a motion by Mayor James, with a second by Commissioner Tolbert, the Board voted to approve the lease of certain vehicles from Acme Auto Leasing. The vote was 3-0 in favor. Following polling, Mayor James voted Aye, Commissioner Wagner voted Aye, and Commissioner Tolbert voted Aye.
3) Following a motion by Mayor James, with a second by Commissioner Tolbert, the Board voted to approve the HIDTA Investigative Support Center Initiative MOU and accept the grant. The vote was 3-0 in favor. Following polling, Mayor James voted Aye, Commissioner Wagner voted Aye, and Commissioner Tolbert voted Aye.
4) Following a motion by Commissioner Tolbert, with a second by Mayor James, the Board voted to approve the applications for continued employment of Reserve Sergeant Michael Coughlin, Police Officer John Wilson, Reserve Sergeant Dwight Rhodes, Detention Officer Patricia Doolin, and Reserved Police Officer Douglas Harr. The vote was 3-0 in favor. Following polling, Mayor James voted Aye, Commissioner Wagner voted Aye, and Commissioner Tolbert voted Aye.
5) Following a motion by Commissioner Tolbert, with a second by Mayor James, the Board voted to approve the minutes of the closed session of the Board of Police Commissioners on July 10, 2018. The vote was 3-0 in favor. Following polling, Mayor James voted Aye, Commissioner Wagner voted Aye, and Commissioner Tolbert voted Aye.
6) Following a motion by Commissioner Tolbert, with a second by Mayor James, the Board voted to come out of closed session and adjourn. The vote was 3-0 in favor. Following polling, Mayor James voted Aye, Commissioner Wagner voted Aye, and Commissioner Tolbert voted Aye.
The meeting adjourned at 1:12 p.m.
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President
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Secretary/Attorney
Board of Police Commissioners Minutes