We assigned a lot officers to yesterday's St. Patrick's Day parade, and hopefully if you were there, you barely noticed them and had a great time. But I can assure you they were busy (to see pictures of the police at the parade, check out our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/kcpolice). The below press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office outlines one of the situations police dealt with yesterday and demonstrates the value of having officers both in the air and on the ground at an event like this:
PROJECT CEASEFIRE: KC MAN CHARGED WITH POSSESSING LOADED FIREARM AT ST. PAT’S PARADE
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Beth Phillips, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Kansas City, Mo., man was charged in federal court today with illegally possessing a loaded handgun at the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Kansas City.
Michael C. Glover, 21, of Kansas City, was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm in a criminal complaint that was filed in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City. Glover remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing, which has not yet been scheduled.
Today’s criminal complaint alleges that Glover was in possession of a Makarov 9mm semi-automatic pistol on Wednesday, March 17, 2011.
According to an affidavit filed in support of today’s criminal complaint, an observer in a Kansas City, Mo., Police Department helicopter, which was patrolling the St. Patrick’s Day parade, saw Glover place something in the corner of a wall near 38th Street and Broadway. Officers on the ground located the loaded firearm.
A few minutes later, the helicopter unit saw Glover at the same location where the firearm had been recovered, the affidavit says. When officers on the ground approached Glover, he ran from the officers, but was apprehended after a brief foot chase and placed under arrest.
Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Glover has a prior felony conviction for distribution/manufacture of a controlled substance.
Phillips cautioned that the charge contained in this complaint is simply an accusation, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charge must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul S. Becker. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
