A police officer who walked from Kansas City to the Missouri capitol in May to talk to Governor Eric Greitens continues to talk to the governor’s office about violent crime in Kansas City. Sapp tells Missourinet that he’s trouble about the number of young people getting killed in his city.
Officer goes the distance to tell Missouri governor about murder rate of young people
“The randomness and the unconscionable decisions being made is like something that I’ve never seen before,” says Sapp. “At least back in the 90s, you can even ask folks that lived in the inner city and grew up around crime. They will say there was a code. You don’t mess with old folks and you don’t mess with the kids.”
According to TV station KMBC, about 36% of this year’s homicide victims in Kansas City are 24 or younger.
There’s been about 75 homicides in Kansas City this year. Sapp says the number of officers and community policing must increase. He’s working with an organization of mothers who have lost children to homicide to make the community aware about violence occurring.
“We need to come together. We need to start a very serious dialogue,” says Sapp. “We need to come together as community because it’s affecting all of us. The cops, the parents, the children, the infrastructure. Everything is affected by this violence.”
State Rep. Brandon Ellington, D-Kansas City, is also addressing the violence in Kansas City during an upcoming event.
Enough is Enough Violence & Prevention Awareness Symposium
July 29th 4-7pm ( Brush Creek… https://t.co/mQaY7ldHVz— Brandon Ellington (@ellington_b) July 12, 2017
The city of Kansas City will soon begin taking applications for a newly created job that aims to reduce violent crime. The liaison position involves working with law enforcement, elected officials, organizations and neighborhood leaders.
Governor Greitens has campaigned heavily in support of protecting Missouri’s law enforcement.
