After a months-long national search, Kansas City's Board of Police Commissioners announced the finalists for police chief on Thursday.
KCPD Major Rick Smith and an outside candidate, Keith Humphrey, were named finalists. Humphrey is the police chief in Norman, Oklahoma. There was a third finalist, Ulysha Renee Hall, but she was named chief of Dallas police on Wednesday.
The board used an outside consulting firm in its nationwide search. It also took input from the public at three community meetings in recent months.
Humphrey has 29 years of policing experience, including 10 years as a chief of police. We asked him about his plan to reduce violent crime in Kansas City.
Smith and Humphrey will answer questions in a public forum from 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. on July 27 in the Community Room of Police Headquarters, 1125 Locust Street.
Questions can be sent via email to BOPC Secretary/Attorney David Kenner at dkenner@levycraig.com, BOPC President Leland Shurin at LShurin@sls-law.com, or to BOPC Assistant Bethany Ruoff at Bethany.Ruoff@kcpd.org.
Questions also can be mailed to:
The Board of Police Commissioners of Kansas City ATTN: Bethany Ruoff, 1125 Locust Street, Kansas City, MO 64106
Or to:
Shaffer Lombardo Shurin ATTN: Leland Shurin 2001 Wyandotte Street Kansas City, MO 64108.
The candidate selected will be the permanent replacement for former Chief Darryl Forte, the 44th police chief of Kansas City.
Forte retired on May 20. Since then, interim Chief David Zimmerman has taken the reins.
Hopeful police chief candidates had to get their applications in by March 31.
More about the finalists
The commander of the Kansas City Police Department's Central Patrol is putting his hat in the ring to become the next chief of police.
?
Major Richard Smith is a 29 year veteran of the KCPD and has myriad of ideas on how to make Kansas City a better place to live.
His competition is Norman, Oklahoma Police Chief Keith Humphrey. He too has 29 years of policing experience.
