Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said Tuesday that she was still examining a report provided by an advisory group for the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office, which urged for the termination of an officer who killed three people and is facing other excessive force claims.
Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker’s report, released on Friday in the final days of her tenure, was based on the work of prosecutor’s office staff and a community advisory board that investigated the killing of 47-year-old Donnie Sanders and other police shootings in recent years.
The study urged the department to terminate Blayne Newton, who fatally shot Sanders in 2020, “to ensure that this officer no longer poses a risk to public safety,” and offered several other policy and training recommendations for police and prosecutors.
Newton was not charged with the shooting.
Among the proposals were minimizing pretextual stops, discouraging officers from foot pursuits, and appointing a liaison officer to assist families of those slain by police.
Graves said at a year-end press conference on Tuesday that she hadn’t yet read the 55-page report and wanted to spend some time reflecting on it. She said she was made aware of the study in mid-December and was handed a couple of items to examine, but she had no role in its creation.
‘False narratives’
When asked about a significant section of the report critical of “false narratives” pushed by police, Graves said she would have to read it, but it was “dangerous to say that officers are involved in false narratives.”
“I think a broad statement of saying that officers provide false narratives is concerning,” she told reporters. “I find it disturbing to say that about the men and women who devote their lives and services to the citizens of Kansas City. I work with them, and they are committed to the betterment and safety of Kansas City.
The investigation included the 2013 shooting of Ryan Stokes and the 2019 killing of Cameron Lamb by department members, as well as the false narratives police pushed following those shootings.
“A renewed focus should be placed on maintaining an independent and neutral investigative team and identifying ways to enhance that process,” said the report’s authors. “It may be acceptable to deliver an early briefing to the public on an officer-involved shooting in consultation with the prosecutor, similar to how these partners would handle a mass shooting in their communities. Only trusted and vetted information can be disseminated, and concern must be expressed clearly and equally for both the officer and the gunshot victim.”
Prosecutor-elect Melesa Johnson told reporters that she saw “immense value” in the work of community advisory boards and intends to continue to use one once she takes office.
“I am fully committed to keeping that entity and relying on them to evaluate different instances and things in our community as a form of checks and balances for my administration,” according to her. “I would like to see more direct engagement with the departments in question and make sure that we are having those conversations directly about proposed changes that could be made to different policies and training protocols.”
