Kansas City Police Chief Richard Smith Archives

In KC, U.S. Attorney General Barr touts Operation LeGend numbers (AUDIO)

August 20, 2020 By Ashley Byrd

Attorney General Bill Barr traveled to Kansas City Wednesday to highlight a federal-local program to make more arrests in violent crime cases in major cities.

LISTEN TO PRESS CONFERENCE (33:53)

LeGend Taliferro’s mother, Charron Powell, urged the community to continue to share tips to solve violent crimes.

Six weeks ago, the Justice Department offered a partnership to the Kansas City Police Department and named it after four-old LeGend Taliferro who was killed by gunshots fired into an apartment while he slept.

Operation LeGend is now in eight other cities, including St. Louis.

Barr listed the numbers:

“Through Operation Legend, the federal government has dispatched to the nine cities more than 1,000 additional agents to work shoulder-to-shoulder with state and local law enforcement. Here in Kansas City, for example, we have deployed more than 185 additional agents from the FBI, DEA, ATF, and U.S. Marshals.

We saw one result of those efforts last week, when Kansas City police arrested the suspected murderer of LeGend Taliferro. The arrest was the product of hard work by the Kansas City Police Department, supported by critical assistance from the FBI and U.S. Marshals. This arrest will not bring LeGend back, but it again makes his case an example of how we can come together to take violent criminals off the street and make our communities more safe.”

Chief Smith at Operation LeGend press conference in Kansas City, Missouri

Kansas City Police Chief Richard Smith said he welcomed the help.

“Our clearance rate is this morning, right around 60 something percent, right about the national average, maybe a little bit more. I think what we are seeing here with our assistance we are getting things done more timely. Things that would take us more time due to resources and manpower would not happen as quick,” Smith said.

Bland Manlove: Missouri’s special session should address the root causes of violence (AUDIO)

July 21, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

While she would like to see other issues addressed, a key Democratic lawmaker from Kansas City supports Governor Mike Parson’s (R) special session call for witness protection.

State Reps. Richard Brown, D-Kansas City, and Ashley Bland Manlove, D-Kansas City, participate in a roundtable discussion with Missouri Governor Mike Parson and law enforcement officers at the Kansas City Police Department on July 20, 2020 (photo courtesy of the governor’s Flickr page)

State Rep. Ashley Bland Manlove, D-Kansas City, a member of Missouri’s Legislative Black Caucus, says witness protection is a bipartisan issue.

“So we want to make sure that there’s enough funding behind that to relocate people as necessary, or keep them in some type of protective custody until the case is resolved,” Bland Manlove says.

She says police officers cannot complete cases without evidence, like witness statements.

Kansas City has had 106 homicides in 2020, which is about a 35 percent increase from last year. Kansas City Police Chief Richard Smith says there’s a sense of urgency in Kansas City, and that action must be taken.

Bland Manlove and several other state lawmakers from both parties joined the governor this week at the Kansas City Police Department, to hear his presentation about the special session. It begins Monday in Jefferson City.

Bland Manlove would much rather address what she calls the root causes of violence.

“Such as the breakdown of the home, education, health care and how all of those have effects on our day-to-day lives,” says Bland Manlove, who serves on the House Budget Committee.

Governor Parson told Missourinet last week that the only reason he’s calling a special session is for violent crime, and the growing homicide rates in the state. St. Louis has had 135 homicides this year.

“I’d like to see mental health addressed from not only a mental disorder issue, but mental health, a lot of families are broken, so they don’t know how to move through life in an efficient way,” Bland Manlove says.

She says some residents need life coaching, saying some have never been taught how to write checks.

She tells Missourinet that she appreciates Governor Parson calling a special session on violent crime, noting that the Legislative Black Caucus requested that he call one in September 2019. She’s noted that Kansas City and St. Louis have consistently ranked in the top ten deadliest cities for at least a decade.

As for the governor, he traveled to northeast Missouri’s Hannibal on Tuesday afternoon to meet with local leaders and law enforcement officers about violent crime and next week’s special session. Parson held a roundtable discussion at Hannibal-LaGrange, where he was joined by State Sen. Cindy O’Laughlin, R-Shelbina, State Rep. Louis Riggs, R-Hannibal and other lawmakers.

The sheriffs from Marion, Ralls and Lewis counties also attended. Lewis County Sheriff David Parrish is the president of the Missouri Sheriff’s Association.

Click here to listen to the full five-minute interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and State Rep. Ashley Bland Manlove, D-Kansas City, which was recorded on July 20, 2020:

Parson emphasizes violent crime and homicides during Kansas City visit (AUDIO)

July 20, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

(Audio is courtesy of Missourinet Kansas City television partner KMBC)

Saying that violent crime and homicides are escalating across Missouri, Governor Mike Parson traveled to Kansas City and Springfield on Monday afternoon to meet with local leaders and law enforcement officers about next week’s special session.

Law enforcement officers from across Missouri joined Governor Mike Parson at his special session call regarding violent crime on July 15, 2020 in Jefferson City (photo courtesy of the governor’s Flickr page)

The special session about violent crime starts Monday in Jefferson City.

“There’s no doubt with the homicide increases across the state, especially St. Louis, Kansas City, even Columbia and Springfield Missouri, across our state. It’s something we don’t want to be happening every day,” Parson tells Kansas City reporters.

The governor was joined in Kansas City by state lawmakers from both parties, who listened to his presentation. Parson was also joined by state Department of Public Safety (DPS) Director Sandy Karsten and by Kansas City Police Chief Richard Smith, who notes there was another homicide while the roundtable meeting was about to begin.

Kansas City has had 105 homicides in 2020, a 35 percent increase from last year. Chief Smith says there is a sense of urgency in Kansas City, and that action must be taken. The chief thanks the governor and state lawmakers for addressing the violent crime issue.

As for Governor Parson, he says witness protection and juvenile certification will be key parts of the upcoming special session. He also says eliminating the residency requirement for St. Louis Police officers is another key part of the call.

“One of the reasons since I’ve been governor that’s been an issue for the last two years since I’ve been there (as governor), they have run consistently about 150 to 200 officers down in their police department,” says Parson.

St. Louis Police Chief John Hayden testified in January that the residency requirement is the greatest challenge that his department has with recruitment and retention.

There have been at least 135 homicides in St. Louis this year.

DPS Director Karsten says witness protection is essential to reducing Missouri’s homicide rates.

“We need our communities’ help in solving the violent crime that we’re seeing. We need people to come forth as witnesses,” Karsten says.

A key part of the governor’s January State of the State Address was $1 million in funding for witness protection. Despite bipartisan support in both chambers, the measure did not pass this year.

Click here to watch the full Kansas City media briefing, courtesy of Missourinet Kansas City television partner KMBC.

State Reps. Ashley Bland Manlove, D-Kansas City, Richard Brown, D-Kansas City, Jerome Barnes, D-Raytown, and Jonathan Patterson, R-Lee’s Summit, were among the lawmakers who listened to the governor’s Kansas City presentation. They also participated in the roundtable discussion.

Representative Bland Manlove tells Missourinet that witness protection is a bipartisan issue. She also says that while she supports Governor Parson on the issue of witness protection, she would much rather see the special session address issues such as mental health, education and health care. She also notes that the Legislative Black Caucus requested a special session last year, about violent crime.

Governor Parson also traveled to Springfield on Monday, where he met with Police Chief Paul Williams, Springfield officers and Greene County Sheriff’s deputies. State lawmakers also joined the governor at the Springfield visit.

Springfield has had 15 homicides this year, and the “News-Leader” reports the city is on pace to break its previous yearly record of 16.

The governor will travel to northeast Missouri’s Hannibal on Tuesday afternoon to meet with leaders there about the special session.

Missouri’s governor wants special session on violent crime to be done as quickly as possible

July 19, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s governor will travel to Kansas City and to Springfield on Monday afternoon, to discuss the upcoming special session on violent crime.

Law enforcement officers from across Missouri joined Governor Mike Parson for his special session call about violent crime on July 15, 2020 in Jefferson City (photo courtesy of the governor’s Flickr page)

Governor Mike Parson (R) will be joined at both visits by state Department of Public Safety (DPS) Director Sandy Karsten.

During Thursday’s Capitol media briefing in Jefferson City, Governor Parson said that he wants the upcoming special session to narrowly focus on violent crime, and wants it to be completed as quickly as possible.

“Hopefully they’re (state lawmakers) going to be prepared, they’re going to know exactly what the (special session) call is, and hopefully they’re going to be able to take up those bills as soon as possible,” Parson says.

The special session begins next Monday, July 27. The governor notes not every lawmaker will need to be in the Capitol each day. The bills will be heard in committee, before they head to the floors of the Missouri House and Senate.

Governor Parson tells Missourinet that the only reason he’s calling a special session is for violent crime and the homicide rates in the state.

There have been 133 homicides in St. Louis this year, while Kansas City has had 102, a 35 percent increase from last year. Springfield has had 15 homicides this year, and the “News-Leader” reports the city is on pace to break its previous yearly record of 16.

While Missouri Legislative Black Caucus Chairman State Rep. Steven Roberts, D-St. Louis, wants the governor to add police reform to the special session, Parson says that’s an issue that needs more time.

“But reform is not going to be something that’s going to be easily done in a short session. One, there’s a lot of things that’s going to to have to go a lot of work into that to see what that looks like, whether it’s in St. Louis, whether it’s in Kansas City or whether it’s statewide,” says Parson.

While Parson says police reform is an issue that needs to be discussed “at some point,” he says the best place to do that is during a regular legislative session, which gives more time for lengthy committee hearings.

Kansas City Police Chief Richard Smith and Springfield Police Chief Paul Williams joined Governor Parson for his special session announcement on Wednesday in Jefferson City.

While witness protection will be a key part of the special session call, so will eliminating the residency requirement for St. Louis police officers. Another key provision includes juvenile certification.