Kansas City activists accuse mayor of ‘false promises’ amid calls for police reform
A coalition of area civil rights groups is accusing Mayor Quinton Lucas of “political posturing” and “false promises” as they seek major reforms of the Kansas City Police Department that include the firing of Chief Rick Smith.
An open letter publicly shared by the coalition Thursday afternoon renewed calls for Smith to be fired, criticizing Lucas for “silence and false promises” as local leaders have organized recent meetings with activists regarding police reform.
The letter took aim at Lucas specifically, referencing a recent interview on CNN during which the mayor was accused of grossly misrepresenting “the facts” surrounding the state of the relationship between activists and the city’s institutions.
“This call for communal dialogue reminds us of last summer when you knelt with us in the afternoon and then set a curfew to teargas us by the evening,” the letter stated, adding that Lucas “has engaged in political posturing at the expense of members in our community who are most impacted by police violence.”
The mayor addressed the letter Thursday during an unrelated press conference, calling the matter “unfortunate.” He also questioned the letter’s intent.
“There are some who are interested in a war of words, particularly Black on Black war of words,” the mayor said. “When I was a councilman, I determined years ago that that’s not the sort of thing that I’m here to engage in.”
“I’m here to engage in substantive, long term policy change for how we can build police-community trust in Kansas City,” the mayor added. “We have a lot of work to do.”
Lucas also defended his record as mayor on the topic of police reform, saying he has sought to influence policy in Jefferson City among other actions as Kansas City’s police department remains highly controlled by state lawmakers.
The letter was cosigned by several organizations, some of which boast both national and local presence, including the NAACP, the Urban League of Kansas City, National Black United Front and Black Rainbow. It was addressed to Lucas, Smith and Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.
Among the broader calls for police reform raised by the coalition on Thursday were significant cuts in department spending, establishment of an independent community-based complaints office and the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate allegations of police misconduct.
Civil rights leaders and area activists began calling on Smith to resign in June 2020, citing a lack of confidence in the chief’s handling of fatal police shootings of Black men and allegations of excessive use of force by members of his department.
In a statement, KCPD spokesman Sgt. Jake Becchina said the chief has no plans to resign.
“We look forward to discussions with any group that wants to come to the table,” Becchina said. “We are proud of the reforms we have undertaken and look forward to continued progress.”
Earlier this week, KCPD highlighted a list of reforms undertaken over the past year as public pressure continues to build nationally in the wake of highly publicized killings of Black Americans during encounters with police.
On that list were new guidelines for officer conduct during protests — a policy change that came after five officers were criminally charged related to summer demonstrations in the Plaza — and outfitting patrol officers with body cameras.
Meanwhile, the civil rights groups criticizing local leaders on Thursday said KCPD’s reforms have been “minuscule, ineffective, inadequate” and not conducive to deeper changes desired by the larger community.
