KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Quinton Lucas says he plans to propose new changes within the city's police department aimed at increasing transparency, including a move to make the review of complaints against officers a more independent process.
“The measures I propose will help increase accountability and build community trust — which will lead to a safer city for all,” Lucas said in a news release announcing the proposals, which he plans to make at the Board of Police Commissioners meeting on Tuesday.
Lucas plans to introduce a measure to codify an officer’s duty to intervene in the case of excessive or potentially deadly force, as well as a resolution that would create an independent Office of Community Complaints, rather than one that reports directly to the Board of Police Commissioners.
“Currently, the Office of Community Complaints director sends final determination to the Board of Police Commissioners ‘and/or’ the Chief of Police following a review,” Lucas said in the news release. “The review process needs greater independence outside the Board or department leadership.”
Lucas also will propose additional whistleblower protections for members of the department and changes to KCPD’s community complaint process, which include extending the time to file a complaint; allowing complaints from people of any age; and allowing third-party complaints.
The mayor said the department’s current policy of prohibiting third-party complaints can deter some from reporting misconduct.
Earlier this summer, Lucas pushed for police reforms in the wake of protests following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Among those changes was the requirement that shootings involving KCPD officers must now be reviewed by an outside agency.
The additional proposals announced Monday come after a KCPD sergeant was charged last week with third-degree assault in connection with a 2019 incident involving a 15-year-old boy.
Three other KCPD officers also have been indicted in recent months.
