INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — One month ago, Independence Police shot and killed Maria Pike and her, 2-month-old baby, Destinii at an apartment complex.
Questions about the details of the incident prompted the department to release edited clips of body camera video from one of the officers inside the apartment.
Since the Nov. 7 shooting, advocates like Steve Young at the Kansas City Law Enforcement Accountability Project have continued to call for more accountability and transparency.
“The family just sits there and it’s like they’re, they’re just in limbo and they have no idea what’s going on,” Young said. “Transparency is just being more open and honest with how the investigation is actually going.”
In seeking transparency for the public, I spent the last few weeks compiling use-of-force policies from various Kansas City area law enforcement agencies.
The Independence Police Department was the only agency to redact its policy.
Click image to open document
“That’s a little concerning. It makes me wonder, 'Well, what exactly is in here?'” Young said. “Why would that be redacted?”
Independence cited a statute in Missouri’s Sunshine Law that protects guidelines, policies and specific response plans from disclosure.
I asked police for a deeper explanation about the redaction in accordance with the same statute they cited.
“The redacted portion of the policy contains information on tactics and procedures that, if widely distributed, could endanger citizens and Police Department personnel and pertains solely to the deployment of less-lethal methods,” the department wrote in response to my question.
Young said he is most interested in the less-lethal options for officers. He speculated information behind the blacked-out lines showed options officers didn’t take that could have spared the life of baby Destinii and Maria Pike.
“I really don’t know. When it comes to policy and procedure, they can pretty much explain anything away,” Young said.
I wanted to know how other departments approach use-of-force policies and how they responded to our request for their own policies.
I submitted additional requests in neighboring areas.
LINK | Blue Springs policy
LINK | Clay County policy
LINK | Liberty policy
LINK | Lee's Summit policy
LINK | Kansas City, Missouri, policy
Liberty, Lee’s Summit, Kansas City and Clay County all gave me their use-of-force policies over email within 24 hours.
Blue Springs responded to a Sunshine Request with a link to their portal with various public documents, including the use of force.
Some departments list their policies publicly on their websites. Young commended those agencies.
“That’s a step in the right direction. That’s transparency,” Young said. “You want the community to trust you. By having that readily available, just for anybody to go on and grab it. That’s creating a form of trust.”
Maria and Destinii’s case is now in the hands of the Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney's Office. They will determine what charges, if any, might be filed.
A spokesperson for the prosecutor's office did not have a timeline on when the review would be complete.
—