Kansas City Police Archives

Kansas City mayor says bipartisanship is critical in battling crime (AUDIO)

December 1, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

Kansas City’s mayor says the hardest part of the job is dealing with the increasing violence in his city.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson (right) visits with
St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, Springfield Mayor Ken McClure, Columbia Mayor Brian Treece and their four respective police chiefs on November 25, 2019 in Jefferson City (photo courtesy of the governor’s office)

Kansas City saw at least three homicides in 24 hours this weekend, bringing the total number of homicides there this year to 141. That’s up from 120 in 2018, with a full month to go.

Mayor Quinton Lucas tweeted this weekend that “we can never accept the violence”, describing it as senseless. He says each victim’s life was important.

Meantime, Mayor Lucas is optimistic about the four meetings that have taken place between Governor Mike Parson and the mayors of Missouri’s four largest cities.

Lucas, a Democrat, met with GOP Governor Parson and the three other mayors last week at the Missouri Capitol in Jefferson City.

Missourinet asked Lucas about a tweet sent to him, questioning why he would meet with the Republican governor. Lucas emphasizes this is a bipartisan issue.

“Nobody wants me to sit around and be a proud Democrat and four years from now we still have 140 homicides every year in Kansas City,” Lucas says. “And so, I’ll meet with the governor everyday of the week if we can get this problem solved.”

Lucas says the crime priorities outlined last week in Jefferson City by Governor Parson and the mayors are reasonable ideas. St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson, Springfield Mayor Ken McClure and Columbia Mayor Brian Treece also spoke at the press conference.

“What we’re saying is we’re going to make the community safer by making sure that children aren’t walking around with handguns,” Lucas tells Capitol reporters. “That domestic abusers can’t walk around with guns and threaten their past victims and survivors of domestic violence.”

Other priorities for the governor and mayors include witness protection and relocation and mental health treatment.

Click here to listen to the full press conference involving Governor Mike Parson (R) and Springfield Mayor Ken McClure, St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson, Columbia Mayor Brian Treece and Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, which took place at the Statehouse in Jefferson City on November 25, 2019:

Missouri lawmaker warns of economic impact of Kansas City’s violent crime

September 18, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

The top Democrat on the Missouri House Special Committee on Tourism says violent crime is hurting business in his hometown of Kansas City.

State Rep. Richard Brown, D-Kansas City, briefs Capitol reporters in Jefferson City on September 10, 2019. House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, is at right (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Kansas City Police say there have been 110 homicides in 2019, and five of the victims were children. State Rep. Richard Brown, D-Kansas City, tells Capitol reporters the time for action is now, adding that God wants state lawmakers to take action instead of praying.

“In Kansas City in the month of August, we had a double homicide in the Power and Light district,” Brown says. “A patron was shot and killed in the 18th and Vine Jazz District.”

The popular Power and Light District includes restaurants, bars, live music and shopping.

Representative Brown, who’s the treasurer of Missouri’s Legislative Black Caucus, notes Kansas City is trying to attract the World Cup. The city is one of 17 finalist cities to host 2026 World Cup matches. Brown says fans won’t come if they don’t feel safe.

“Patrons who attend the Westport entertainment district now have to go through metal detectors on the weekend, and right now the (Country Club) Plaza is on life support because of the lack of patronage to the businesses on the weekends because of past violence,” says Brown.

He says a meaningful conversation must take place at the Missouri Capitol in Jefferson City.

Meantime, Governor Mike Parson (R) told Capitol reporters Friday afternoon that he’ll be meeting soon with Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas (D) and others about the issue of violent crime. The governor says it will take a coordinated effort among federal, state and community leaders.

“This will never be fixed by one agency,” Parson says. “It won’t. It’s going to take a lot of people a long time to try to fix this problem.”

That is the governor’s position as well on the crime issue in St. Louis City and County. 13 children have died from shootings in St. Louis City in 2019, and the “St. Louis Post-Dispatch” reports six children in St. Louis County have died from gunshot wounds since January.

Parson met recently at the Statehouse with Representative Brown and other Black Caucus leaders. State Rep. Ashley Bland Manlove, D-Kansas City, says Kansas City and St. Louis have consistently ranked in the top ten deadliest cities for at least a decade.