UPDATE 12/14: Missouri’s governor is now reviewing the KCMO police commissioner’s involvement in the political campaign.
The review comes after the 41 Action News Investigators reported Alvin Brooks made three separate donations to Attorney General Chris Koster’s campaign for governor and also was one of the hosts for a Koster reception.
"It happened, it was an honest mistake," said Brooks. "What happened was I got a call from the host asking if I would be one of the host persons and I said yes and then I went and I also made a contribution."
A well-known person in the community, the 84-year-old Brooks has spent more than six decades in public service trying to reduce crime in Kansas City.
A flier the 41 Action News Investigators exclusively obtained advertises a July 2015 reception for Koster.
Brooks was near the top of the list of hosts for the event held at Kansas City Attorney Brian McCallister's home.
The flier listed Brooks as a former Kansas City councilman and mayor pro tem, but not as a current police commissioner.
McCallister told the 41 Action News Investigators the fundraising event for Koster packed his home with donors.
The suggested donation for a host listed on the flier was $2,500.
Records the 41 Action News Investigators exclusively obtained show Brooks gave $150 on the same day as the reception.
But Brooks said he had second thoughts, so he called police commission board secretary and attorney David Kenner for advice.
"He told me that although the statute is somewhat ambiguous, his advice to me was to come down on the side of caution and not participate and that was the end, I didn't participate further," Brooks said.
But state records show months after the reception, Brooks gave two more $25 donations to Koster's campaign.
One of them was made January 31 of this year and the more recent one was made on March 2.
Brooks confirmed the accuracy of the donation information.
Chapter 84 of Missouri law dealing specifically with police departments in Kansas City and St. Louis states "members of the board of police commissioners (other than the mayor) will refrain from partisan political activity."
"On the first blush, it appears to be a violation that a person who's a member of the police board cannot make political contributions," said UMKC Law Professor Rafe Foreman.
After the 41 Action News Investigators showed Foreman the documents, he found a 1984 Supreme Court case.
The result was Kansas City Police Officer Roger Pollard lost his job for giving a campaign donation.
Foreman said the only option for a police commissioner violating the same law is removal from the board.
"You don't want to call 911 and have the police drive up in your yard and go, 'Oh you got the wrong political sign in your yard, I don't believe I'll answer that call,'" said Foreman. "If we have a commission that is overseeing and regulating police, we want them to be impartial as well."
But a more recent section of the law states police officers and employees can't engage in political activity while on duty.
Kenner said because that portion prohibits political activity while on duty, it doesn't say anything about off-duty, making the law somewhat ambiguous.
"It doesn't seem to be ambiguous to me, I'll say that," Foreman said.
"I would like to stay on the board, I think I've served the people of Kansas City well," said Brooks.
Brooks has been on the police board since he was appointed by Governor Jay Nixon in 2010.
Missouri's governor appoints all police board members.
When the 41 Action News Investigators asked Brooks if supporting Koster would make it more likely for him to be re-appointed to the police board if Koster had won, Brooks replied, "That's up to the governor. I certainly serve at the pleasure of the governor."
But Koster lost, so the 41 Action News Investigators reached out to Governor-elect Eric Greitens' transition team.
A spokesman declined comment.
In Brooks' campaign contributions, he lists himself as the "Adhoc Group Against Crime Founder."
However Brooks said he gave his donation as an individual, not on behalf of that nonprofit organization.
A nonprofit giving a political campaign money can be grounds for losing that nonprofit, tax exempt status.
In response to our story, Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners President Michael Rader issued this statement.
“Neither I nor any member of the Police Board is in a positon to determine whether or not Commissioner Brooks’ limited involvement in the Koster political campaign was appropriate. This issue is not under review by the Board. The Police Board does not have the authority to appoint or remove sitting commissioners. That authority and the authority to determine the appropriateness of any commissioner’s individual conduct rests solely with the Missouri Governor’s Office.”
Scott Holste, a spokesman for Governor Jay Nixon, confirmed the Brooks matter is under review.
However Holste says the governor’s office has no additional comment right now.
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Andy Alcock can be reached at anderson.alcock@kshb.com.
