KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department said Thursday it will no longer host a training session in May covering “criminal gypsies/travelers and their crimes.”
On Thursday morning, several Kansas City-area media outlets were alerted to the event posted on the police department’s events page.
The training, which would have been conducted by the Gryphon Training Group, was described as a 2-day course with an in-depth look at: “Gypsy and Traveler Crime as ‘Non-Traditional Organized Crime,’" that included a focus on ethnic groups including the Roma, Polish, Yugoslavians and the Romanian Nationals.
The training was set to be held May 23 and May 24 at KCPD’s Regional Training Academy in the Northland.
By Thursday afternoon, the department had removed the listing.
A department spokesperson said the training had been canceled and that “the Training Division Commander will ensure proper procedures are in place to avoid future occurrences such as this.”
KCMO Mayor Quinton Lucas tweeted Thursday evening his approval of the cancelation.
"The police department made the correct decision to cancel the third-party use of a training facility for a group that unfairly targeted and ostracized an ethnic group. In Kansas City, all are welcome," Lucas tweeted.
Many consider the word “gypsy” to be derogatory.
—
