January 14, 2025 Meeting
MINUTES OF THE
BOARD OF POLICE COMMISSIONERS
TUESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2025
A meeting of the Board of Police Commissioners of Kansas City, Missouri was held on Tuesday, January 14, 2025, in the Community Room at Police Headquarters, 1125 Locust Street, Kansas City.
PRESENT:
Commissioner Dawn Cramer, President
Commissioner Tom Whittaker, Vice President
Commissioner Madeline Romious, Treasurer
Mayor Quinton Lucas, Member
Mr. David Kenner, Secretary/Attorney
Stacey Graves, Chief of Police
This meeting was called to order at 9:30 a.m. by Commissioner Cramer. Police Officer Brandon Walker led the Pledge of Allegiance. Chaplain Bill Gorman provided the invocation.
1. Guest Presentations. Sarah Towne, Project Manager from Baker Tilly, presented the findings from the professional staff classification and compensation study. She advised that they reviewed all job titles and descriptions and compared them with six peer organizations and three published surveys to represent the private sector. Based on the draft market results, on average, KCPD is 10.4 percent below market at the minimum pay, 2.6 percent above the market at the midpoint, and 9.7 percent above market at the maximum.
Ms. Towne advised that the Department’s current professional staff pay scale was extremely outdated. With the assistance of Human Resources, Baker Tilly conducted an analysis of the existing scale and built and new plan tailored to the study’s results. Grade assignments were based on internal and external results, and a regression was used to test the relationship between this new information and to identify outliers. The new plan condensed the current 14-step pay scale down to 11 steps. Additionally, the step differentials are now set at a consistent 5.75 percent. This significantly reduces the amount of time it will take a member to reach their topped-out salary. The new scale also provides an open range plan for managerial pay.
Ms. Towne advised that of 520 staff, 176 employees (33.8 percent) have a salary that falls below their new range and 343 employees (66 percent) have a salary that falls within their new range. She noted that no employee will receive a pay decrease as a result of this study. Additionally, if a member’s current salary is already beyond the new maximum, they will remain frozen at the pay rate without a deduction. To retain topped-out employees, the Department is considering a longevity bonus.
Ms. Towne advised that two town hall meetings will be held to share the implementation process with all members. These meetings will occur on January 14, 2025, at the Regional Police Academy, and January 15, 2025, at Police Headquarters.
In response to a question, Major Joshua Heinen advised that the cost of implementation will be approximately $2.5 million. This amount was anticipated and was requested in the Fiscal Year 2025-26 requested budget. The Department plans to implement this change on May 1, 2025.
Mayor Lucas advised that City Council will not have an update this month. Mayor Lucas introduced Lace Cline as the new Director of Public Safety assigned to the Mayor’s Office. Ms. Cline is a former prosecutor, and she will work with residents, neighborhoods, businesses, police and prosecutors, to enhance the work on becoming a safer city.
Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson thanked the Board for the opportunity to provide updates at each monthly meeting. Prosecutor Johnson spoke about recent policy changes at the Prosecutor’s Office, changing the drug prosecution policy and clarification around domestic violence. Starting now, all drug distribution cases should be worked and sent to the Prosecutor’s Office. Additionally, all domestic violence cases involving strangulation, stitches or staples, broken bones, weapons, or other criteria, should be referred to her office for charges.
Prosecutor Johnson also advised that her office will be assigning a prosecutor to each patrol division to serve as a liaison between the patrol division and the Prosecutor’s Office. Additionally, prosecutors will be assigned to the Robbery Unit and new Assault Squad. Property crimes prosecutions will be handled by lawyers supervising law students.
Mayor Lucas and Chief Graves commended Prosecutor Johnson for these incredibly positive changes that will improve the safety of the community.
2. General Discussion from the Chief of Police. Chief Stacey Graves wished everyone a Happy New Year. She advised that the past month, four new call takers completed training and will begin handling emergency and non-emergency calls independently. Additionally, 19 probationary police officers made it off of break-in, and 17 just graduated from the Academy and are now assigned to their field training officers.
Chief Graves advised that there are currently 40 law enforcement applicants that are confirmed to start training at the Academy on January 27, 2025. She noted that this will be the largest class since 2019, and the 4th-largest class since 2007. She commended the Department’s recruiters for their hard work. The Board commended Chief Graves and members for their exceptional work on recruiting new members and increasing the staffing during the last year.
3. Investigations Bureau. Deputy Chief Doug Niemeier introduced Captain Edward Lamport and Sergeant Jason Cramblit of the Drug Enforcement Unit (DEU) Administrative Squad. The DEU Administrative Squad consists of one sergeant and six detectives that respond to and investigate all drug overdoses. Sergeant Cramblit advised that in 2024, there were 319 reported overdoses, with 158 fatalities.
Deputy Chief Niemeier advised that there have been seven homicides to-date 2025, compared to two homicides during this same time period in 2024. There were 144 homicides in 2024, compared to 182 in 2023. The Department has cleared 86 homicides in 2024, plus an additional 23 homicides from previous years, totaling 109 solved homicides. The Department’s clearance rate is 76 percent, which is well above the national average of 57.8 percent.
Deputy Chief Niemeier advised that there were eight homicides that occurred in December 2024. Two of the December homicides occurred within the East Patrol Division, four within the Metro Patrol Division, and two within the South Patrol Division.
Deputy Chief Niemeier advised that there were 572 non-fatal shootings in 2024, compared to 511 in 2023. In December 2024, there were 28 non-fatal shootings, compared to 34 non-fatal shootings in December 2023. There have been eight non-fatal shootings to-date 2025, compared to 11 during this same time period in 2024.
Deputy Chief Niemeier advised that the Homicide/Missing Persons Squad investigated 1,026 deaths in 2024 that were categorized as natural, suspicious, or suicide. Additionally, they took 957 missing person reports, and had a 96 percent recovery rate.
Deputy Chief Niemeier spoke about property crimes. He advised that the Department has received a lot of cooperation from the public, and surveillance videos of crimes happening have been a huge benefit in investigating these. The deployment of additional officers for high visibility and targeted patrol in these arrests have also helped significantly.
Mayor Lucas left the meeting at 11:05 a.m.
4. Patrol Bureau. Deputy Chief Joseph Mabin spoke of the notable events within the Patrol Bureau in December 2024. Deputy Chief Mabin presented monthly statistics for the Patrol Bureau. He advised that the median response time for Priority 10 calls (also known as Priority 1) for the month of December was 8 minutes and 26 seconds; the Department’s Priority 10 response time goal is 7.50 minutes. The Priority 20 (also known as Priority 2) response time for the month of December was 10 minutes and 46 seconds; the Department’s Priority 20 response time goal is 9.00 minutes. The response time is the amount of time from when the call is created until an officer arrives on scene.
Deputy Chief Mabin advised that members of the Traffic Division issued 57,863 traffic citations in 2024, compared to 48,583 in 2023. In December 2024, members of the Traffic Division issued 3,703 traffic citations, compared to 2,725 in December 2023. Deputy Chief Mabin advised there were 17,618 citywide crashes in 2024, compared to 18,606 in 2023. There were 1,358 citywide crashes in December 2024, compared to 1,454 citywide crashes in December 2023.
Deputy Chief Mabin advised that there were 86 fatal crashes with 97 victims in 2024, compared to 90 fatal crashes with 102 victims in 2023. There were nine fatal crashes with 11 victims in the month of December 2024. Deputy Chief Mabin noted that 84 percent of the 2024 fatality victims were not wearing a seatbelt, and at least 50 percent involved alcohol and/or drug impairment.
Deputy Chief Mabin advised that there were 1,225 DUI arrests in 2024; 887 of those were submitted for City charges and 338 of those were submitted for state charges. During the month of December 2024, members of the Traffic Division held nine DUI wolfpack enforcement operations, which resulted in 112 stops, 38 DUI arrests, and 130 total citations issued. Deputy Chief Mabin noted that there were 80 DUI arrests Department-wide in December 2024.
Deputy Chief Mabin advised that the Traffic Division held six major street racing (sideshow) enforcement operations in 2024, with the assistance from other agencies. These six operations are in addition to each patrol division’s normal response to sideshow activity and calls for service. These six operations resulted in 134 stop stick deployments, 171 total citations issued, towed 22 vehicles, five firearms recovered, two stolen autos recovered, and four warrants cleared.
In response to a question from Commissioner Whittaker, Deputy Chief Mabin advised that the new Rapid Deployment Squad is a proactive squad similar to the impact squads the Department has had in the past. This squad will be mobile, responding to different areas that are experiencing upticks in crime.
5. Administration Bureau. Deputy Chief Luis Ortiz provided an update on Department staffing. He advised that as of December 31, 2024, Department strength was 1,675. For this time period, there were 1,097 sworn law enforcement personnel, 44 recruits, 529 professional staff, and five Board members; there were 198 total vacancies. Deputy Chief Ortiz advised that this is the first time in several years that the Department has beat the retirement/resignation attrition rate.
Deputy Chief Ortiz advised that the 182nd Entrant Officer Class (EOC) graduated the Academy on January 9, 2025. There were 17 KCPD recruits in this class that graduated and have started break-in with their field training officers. The 183rd EOC will graduate from the Academy on April 10, 2025. This class currently has 14 KCPD recruits and 21 from other outside agencies.
Deputy Chief Ortiz advised that the 185th EOC will begin training on January 27, 2025. There are 40 KCPD recruits already confirmed. This class will graduate from the training in August 2025. Deputy Chief Ortiz noted that this will be the largest KCPD recruit class that the Department has had since 2019. He commended the Employment and Recruiting Section and the Academy staff for their hard work over the last several months to increase class sizes. Deputy Chief Ortiz also noted that there are currently 12 lateral officers in various stages of the hiring and training process.
Deputy Chief Ortiz advised that the Department hired two new members in the Communications Unit this month. He noted that there are two pending job offers and an additional seven applicants in the hiring process for the Communications Unit. Members of the Communications Unit and Recruiting & Employment Unit have been attending job fairs with the Full Employment Council.
Deputy Chief Ortiz advised that the Department will hold law enforcement testing on January 25, 2025, February 12, 2025, March 15, 2025, and April 14, 2025, at the Regional Police Academy. There are 51 applicants already registered to attend the January 25, 2025, testing.
The Department continues to hire for all positions. Deputy Chief Ortiz advised that the Department is in the final stages of hiring a new non-sworn Employee Relations Manager, and plans to make a job offer later this week. The Department will also be hiring a non-sworn Human Resources Director in the near future. More information on open positions can be found at https://www.kcpd.org/careers/.
Deputy Chief Ortiz advised that the Department’s internship program has resumed. The Spring 2025 interns started on January 13, 2025, and will be with KCPD until May 9, 2025. There are five interns in the spring session. The Summer 2025 intern session will run from June 2, 2025, through July 25, 2025. There are 14 students signed up for the summer session. Additionally, the Crime Lab has seven students signed up for their summer internship program.
Deputy Chief Ortiz advised that the Department recently held a sergeant’s promotional process. There top 30 candidates that received the highest written examination scores will now proceed to the job simulation/assessment center phase. Deputy Chief Ortiz also noted that the Wellness Section made 106 member contacts during the last month.
6. Executive Services Bureau. Deputy Chief Derek McCollum presented the following items for Board approval:
a. Budget Transfers for Fiscal Year 2024-25. A memorandum dated January 2, 2025, was presented recommending approval of budget transfers. This transfer will affect the General Fund, the Police Grants Fund, and the Grants Special Revenue Fund.
A motion was made by Commissioner Whittaker, with a second by Commissioner Romious, to approve the budget transfers as presented. The vote was 3-0 in favor.
b. Adjustment to Special Revenue Accounts for Fiscal Year 2024-25. A memorandum dated January 2, 2025, was presented recommending approval to transfer $647,000 from the Special Services Donations Fund to the Police Foundation of Kansas City – Software Fund. This donation was made by the Police Foundation of Kansas City to cover the cost of the Peregrine software.
A motion was made by Commissioner Whittaker, with a second by Commissioner Romious, to approve the $647,000 adjustment within the special revenue accounts. The vote was 3-0 in favor.
7. Chief’s Office Executive Officer. Deputy Chief Steve Young presented the following consent agenda item:
a. Project 1494: Formal Funeral Plan
A motion was made by Commissioner Romious, with a second by Commissioner Whittaker, to approve Project 1494, Formal Funeral Plan, as presented. The vote was 3-0 in favor.
8. Office of General Counsel. General Counsel Nathan Weinert presented the following private officer license appeal:
a. Private Officer License Appeal: John D. Powell. A memorandum dated January 6, 2025, was presented recommending the revocation of the armed private security license of John D. Powell. On November 5, 2024, while working as a private security officer, Powell pointed his weapon at individuals in a vehicle. Powell’s account of events did not match his bodycam footage. Powell’s license is subject to revocation pursuant to the Code of State Regulations, 17 CSR § 10-2.060(2)(H).
A motion was made by Commissioner Romious, with a second by Commissioner Whittaker, to uphold the decision of the Private Officer Licensing Unit to revoke the armed private security license of John D. Powell. The vote was 3-0 in favor.
9. Public Comments. Ron Hunt commended the Department on the current homicide clearance rate. Mr. Hunt encouraged the Department to focus on integrity and look within to remove any problem employees.
10. Approval of Minutes. A motion was made by Commissioner Romious, with a second by Commissioner Whittaker, to approve the minutes of the open session Board meeting on December 17, 2024. The vote was 3-0 in favor.
11. Commissioner Dawn Cramer. Commissioner Cramer wished everyone a Happy New Year. Commissioner Cramer commended members of the Department and encouraged them to continue their hard work.
12. Scheduled meetings. The Board of Police Commissioners of Kansas City, Missouri has scheduled the following meetings:
Disciplinary Hearing:
BOPC 24-05
THIS HEARING HAS BEEN CONTINUED FROM ITS CURRENT SETTING OF JANUARY 24, 2025, AND WILL BE RESET FOR A FUTURE DATE TO BE DETERMINED BY THE BOARD.
*Disciplinary Hearings are closed under Section 590.502(6) of the Revised Statutes of Missouri.
Regular Meetings:
February 25, 2025, 9:30 a.m., at KCPD Headquarters, Community Room, 1125 Locust, Kansas City.
March 18, 2025, 9:30 a.m., at KCPD Headquarters, Community Room, 1125 Locust, Kansas City.
April 15, 2025, 9:30 a.m., at KCPD Headquarters, Community Room, 1125 Locust, Kansas City.
May 13, 2025, 9:30 a.m., at KCPD Headquarters, Community Room, 1125 Locust, Kansas City.
June 17, 2025, 9:30 a.m., at KCPD Headquarters, Community Room, 1125 Locust, Kansas City.
July 22, 2025, 9:30 a.m., at KCPD Headquarters, Community Room, 1125 Locust, Kansas City.
August 19, 2025, 9:30 a.m., at KCPD Headquarters, Community Room, 1125 Locust, Kansas City.
September 23, 2025, 9:30 a.m., at KCPD Headquarters, Community Room, 1125 Locust, Kansas City.
October 28, 2025, 9:30 a.m., at KCPD Headquarters, Community Room, 1125 Locust, Kansas City.
November 18, 2025, 9:30 a.m., at KCPD Headquarters, Community Room, 1125 Locust, Kansas City.
December 16, 2025, 9:30 a.m., at KCPD Headquarters, Community Room, 1125 Locust, Kansas City.
A motion was made by Commissioner Whittaker, with a second by Commissioner Romious, and by vote indicated below, to go into closed session at 11:33 a.m., 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 June 5, 2024, 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, January 14, 2025, at KCPD Headquarters, 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:
Commissioner Madeline Romious - Aye
Commissioner Tom Whittaker - Aye
Commissioner Dawn Cramer - 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 Tuesday, January 14, 2025:
The Board went into closed session at 11:50 a.m.
1) Following a motion by Commissioner Whittaker, and a second by Commissioner Romious, the Board voted to authorize certain settlement authority in the case of Jim Swoboda v. BOPC, in an amount not to exceed $___, and subject to certain terms of payment and other conditions.[1] The vote was 3-0 in favor. Following polling, Commissioner Cramer voted Aye, Commissioner Whittaker voted Aye, and Commissioner Romious voted Aye.
Mayor Lucas joined the meeting at 12:15 p.m.
2) Following a motion by Mayor Lucas, and a second by Commissioner Whittaker, the Board voted to authorize certain settlement authority in the case of Darrel Bergquist v. BOPC, in an amount not to exceed $___, and subject to certain terms of payment and other conditions.[2] The vote was 4-0 in favor. Following polling, Commissioner Cramer voted Aye, Commissioner Whittaker voted Aye, Commissioner Romious voted Aye, and Mayor Lucas voted Aye.
3) Following a motion by Commissioner Romious, and a second by Commissioner Whittaker, the Board voted to approve the Collective Bargaining Agreement with the Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 99. The vote was 4-0 in favor. Following polling, Commissioner Cramer voted Aye, Commissioner Whittaker voted Aye, Commissioner Romious voted Aye, and Mayor Lucas voted Aye.
4) Following a motion by Mayor Lucas, and a second by Commissioner Whittaker, the Board voted to approve the minutes of the closed Board meeting on December 17, 2024. The vote was 4-0 in favor. Following polling, Commissioner Cramer voted Aye, Commissioner Whittaker voted Aye, Commissioner Romious voted Aye, and Mayor Lucas voted Aye.
5) Following a motion by Mayor Lucas, and a second by Commissioner Whittaker, at 1:03 p.m., the Board voted to go into special closed session to discuss personnel matters. The vote was 4-0 in favor. Following polling, Commissioner Cramer voted Aye, Commissioner Whittaker voted Aye, Commissioner Romious voted Aye, and Mayor Lucas voted Aye.
6) Following a motion by Mayor Lucas, and a second by Commissioner Whittaker, the Board voted to raise Chief Stacey Graves’s salary to $255,000 per year. The vote was 4-0 in favor. Following polling, Commissioner Cramer voted Aye, Commissioner Whittaker voted Aye, Commissioner Romious voted Aye, and Mayor Lucas voted Aye.
7) Following a motion by Commissioner Whittaker, and a second by Mayor Lucas, at 2:02 p.m., the Board voted to come out of special closed session and adjourn. The vote was 4-0 in favor. Following polling, Commissioner Cramer voted Aye, Commissioner Whittaker voted Aye, Commissioner Romious voted Aye, and Mayor Lucas voted Aye.
The Board adjourned at 2:02 p.m.