Missouri's new medical marijuana law and KCPD

Earlier this month, Missouri voters approved Amendment 2, which legalized medical marijuana. I’ve heard many questions about how this will affect our enforcement activity. The short answer is: it won’t.

Amendment 2 allows state-licensed physicians to recommend marijuana use to patients. Doctor-approved patients must obtain an identification card from the state indicating they are permitted to use medical marijuana. With the card, they will be allowed to grow six flowering plants in their homes and purchase 4 ounces of dried marijuana or equivalent from a state-licensed dispensary. The state must begin accepting applications for qualifying patients no later than June 4, 2019.

The passing of this ballot measure added Article XVI to the Missouri Constitution. Part of that amendment states, “This section is not intended to change current civil and criminal laws governing the use of marijuana for nonmedical purposes. The section does not allow for the public use of marijuana and driving under the influence of marijuana.”

Because criminal laws about recreational marijuana use have not changed, neither will our enforcement. The members of the Kansas City Missouri Police Department take an oath to enforce state statutes. Until laws change, we will conduct business in accordance with our oath and the laws of this state. For felony-level marijuana possession cases (35 or more grams), we will continue to submit case files to all the county prosecutors’ offices in Kansas City, depending on where the offense took place: Clay, Platte, Jackson and Cass.

Most misdemeanor-level cases will continue to be submitted to city prosecutors. While the possession of 35 grams of marijuana or less carries a fine of just $25, it is still a misdemeanor and will be noted as such on an individual’s criminal record. The passage of Missouri’s medical marijuana law in no way changes that. It does, however, raise many other questions regarding firearms, employment and more that are beyond law enforcement.

Police do not make laws. Legislators – and in this case, citizen petitions and voters – do that. We are sworn to enforce the laws as they are written, regardless of what is trendy or popular, and we will continue to do so. If there comes a day that marijuana is fully legalized, of course we will adapt and treat it as any other legal substance that also can cause impairment.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org 

Traffic fatalities are down significantly in Kansas City

Much has been said about the reduced homicide numbers in 2014, but there’s another markedly lower, historically significant statistic in Kansas City that represents more lives saved: traffic fatalities.

There were 48 in 2014, which is the first time that number has been that low since 1994, which also had 48 traffic deaths. We could only find statistics dating back to 1990, and there was not a lower number during that time. Some of our veteran officers believe this could be the lowest number of fatalities in 50 years. Kansas City usually averages 62 to 63 traffic deaths per year. As with homicides, 48 traffic deaths are still too many, representing 48 families who are grieving. One particularly tragic incident happened at the end of 2014 when two young women and three small children in a car all were killed in a crash with a semi-truck on Interstate 435. Our thoughts and prayers are with those they left behind.

But we are making progress. Thirteen fewer families had to grieve the loss of their loved ones to traffic crashes in Kansas City in 2014 than in 2013. In fact, this marks the second year in a row traffic deaths have fallen substantially. There were 72 in 2012, then 61 in 2013, and 48 in 2014. That’s a 33 percent reduction over a two-year period.

There are many different causes for this reduction, but I think some of it can be attributed to the work of our officers. We wanted to try something different to make an impact, so we added a fifth Traffic Enforcement squad in 2014. Enforcement activity was, therefore, much higher. Patrol Division officers not assigned to Traffic Enforcement also stepped up their issuance of traffic citations. Overall, enforcement activity was up about 20 percent, and fatalities were reduced in equal measure. If there had not been tangible, life-saving results, we would have deployed that additional squad of Traffic Enforcement officers elsewhere. I will continue to watch the correlation between enforcement and reduced fatalities for any indications that we should use our resources in another way, but right now they’re doing exactly what we’d hoped they’d do: save lives.

So how does increased enforcement activity lead to reduced fatalities? Consider the statistics from 2014. Of the 48 people killed, excessive speed was a contributing factor in 24 of their deaths. Alcohol was a factor in 19 fatalities, and drugs in 10 fatalities. Other contributing factors to fatal crashes last year included eight sign/signal violations, three people who failed to yield and two lane violations. These all are things we write citations for. The more people we stop who are travelling at excessive speeds, driving recklessly or are intoxicated, then the fewer dangerous drivers are on the road. We hope that citation modifies the driver’s behavior, encouraging them to obey traffic laws in the future.

Seat belts are another major piece of this, as they always are. Last year, Kansas City passed a primary seat belt law, which allowed officers to stop and cite drivers and passengers not wearing their seat belts. Previously, officers could not stop a vehicle just for a seat belt violation. They could issue that ticket in addition to another citation, but lack of a seat belt could not be the cause of the stop. It can now. Major Jim Pruetting, commander of the Traffic Division, told me his officers issued a lot of seat belt tickets (more than 3,200 more than in 2013), and anecdotally, they’re seeing far more people wearing them.

Of the 48 people killed in crashes in 2014, seven were pedestrians, four were motorcyclists and one was a bicyclist. That leaves 36 who were killed in cars. Twenty-three of them, or 64 percent, were not wearing their seat belts.

Kansas City stands out for its reduction in traffic fatalities. The State of Missouri recorded just three fewer traffic deaths in 2014 compared to 2013, and that drop is thanks to Kansas City. Many other places experienced increased fatality crashes.

But like homicides, there is only so much police can do to affect them. It is incumbent on everyone who operates a motor vehicle in Kansas City to drive safely and obey all traffic laws. This truly is a life-saver.

Operation Clean Sweep targets criminal networks as part of KC NoVA

PRESS RELEASE:

Kansas City Police conducted a large enforcement effort focusing on individuals who are central components of large-scale criminal networks as part of the first high-visibility operation of the Kansas City No Violence Alliance (KC NoVA.)

Police arrested a total of 17 people, including suspects in multiple homicide investigations. Because investigation is ongoing, police cannot release which cases those are at this time, but they will be working with prosecutors to charge those cases and notify the public of the arrests in coming days. Forty-nine warrants were cleared by the arrests and 15 new charges brought, which could increase as detectives further work cases. Officers also recovered 4.5 grams of cocaine, 224 grams of marijuana and 200 pills.

KC NoVA launched in May 2012 and is a focused effort to deter violent crime. Since its launch, police, prosecutors, Probation and Parole and others have worked to identify those most likely to commit violent crime. They have mapped and analyzed relationships among criminals using intelligence gathered from numerous sources. A KCPD captain, sergeant and four detectives now are assigned full time to KC NoVA.

The network that was the focus of Operation Clean Sweep features about 360 individuals, including homicide suspects, 60+ people on probation or parole, known drug dealers, prostitutes, and juveniles. The Operation was centered on the group’s area of influence in the Old Northeast community of Kansas City.

Operation Clean Sweep is different than previous enforcement initiatives. Those initiatives focused on geographic hot spot areas, whereas this one focused on individuals central to Kansas City’s criminal activity.

KC NoVA is working to arrest and vigorously prosecute those at the center of these criminal networks. Those on the periphery of these networks will be offered services to help prevent them from becoming involved in more serious crime. KC NoVA has hired a master social worker to guide these individuals toward job and life skills training, transportation assistance and more. KC NoVA also will be working with faith-based and community organizations to help steer these individuals away from crime and to rebuild safer neighborhoods.

Researchers with the University of Missouri-Kansas City will evaluate KC NoVA to determine its effectiveness.

Focused deterrence efforts like KC NoVA have reduced violent crime by 30 percent in Cincinnati and Boston. Kansas City had 108 homicides in 2012. KC NoVA’s goal is to reduce that to 80 homicides per annum within two years.

KC NoVA moving forward, set to make big impact on violent crime in 2013

In May of this year, we and several partner agencies announced the creation of the Kansas City No Violence Alliance – or KC NoVA. Since that time, pieces are falling into place to significantly reduce the City’s violent crime in 2013. Repeat offenders who are all too familiar with the criminal justice system will see harsh legal consequences like never before because the system is going to work differently.

KC NoVA is a focused deterrence model similar to what has worked in other cities like Cincinnati and Boston. (Homicides fell by 47 percent in Cincinnati with this type of program.) It focuses law enforcement resources on the most violent offenders and groups while incorporating various systems of support to help lower-level offenders change their paths. Here in Kansas City, it incorporates municipal and federal law enforcement; local, state and federal prosecutors; Probation and Parole; the City; the juvenile justice system and academic research.

Here at KCPD, I have assigned a captain to oversee the project, as well as a sergeant and two detectives. But the whole department will be participating in gathering intelligence and identifying the worst perpetrators of crime in our city. The KC NoVA team is collocated with prosecutors in the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office, and they are working with a research team at the University of Missouri Kansas City to analyze and diagram the city’s criminal networks, targeting the most central figures for swift and certain prosecution.

Those who are on the periphery of those networks and not as heavily involved in violent crime also will be targeted, but for different reasons. They will be offered social services to help them leave crime behind and become productive members of society. They will be assigned case managers who will assist them with things like anger management, life skills, job training, housing and transportation.

Many of these violent crime prevention efforts also begin with offenders re-entering the City after serving time in prison for violent offenses. We are partnering with Probation and Parole like never before. Just last week, a team of KCPD officers met with a man who had been in prison for 26 years and was getting out that day. The officers told him about the resources available to him for successfully re-entering society and let him know they would be checking on him regularly. He is going back to be surrounded by many of the same violent people he was when he committed the crime, but we hope these interventions will help him turn away from those negative influences.

KC NoVA also is working with faith-based communities, family members of those involved in violent crime and neighborhoods to deter violent crime and heal communities.

Deterrence is KC NoVA’s ultimate goal. We hope to achieve this by cracking down very hard on the most violent offenders and giving lower-level offenders the tools they need to get away from a life of crime. I anticipate that you will see a significant reduction in homicides and aggravated assaults in 2013 and the years to come thanks to KC NoVA’s efforts.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

Police to honor victims at DUI checkpoints

PRESS RELEASE:

Kansas City Police will launch a new campaign to remember the victims of drunk driving incidents while preparing for a statewide impaired driving enforcement effort.

The statewide “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” enforcement campaign kicked off at 10 a.m. Friday, Aug. 17, at the Kansas City Regional Police Academy, 6885 N.E. Pleasant Valley Road. The enforcement will run from Aug. 17 through Labor Day, Sept. 3. In launching the campaign, KCPD joined the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT), Missouri State Highway Patrol, Smithville Police Department and Annette Murray, who lost her sister and niece to a drunk driver.

In addition to kicking off the Drive Sober enforcement campaign, Kansas City Police also will introduce their efforts to honor local victims who have lost their lives to drunk drivers. In partnership with MoDOT and Mothers Against Drunk Driving, KCPD will dedicate their upcoming sobriety checkpoints to these victims. Each checkpoint will honor a different victim by featuring two signs – one at the beginning of the check-lane with the victim’s picture and another at the end saying the date the victim was killed. After each checkpoint, the victims’ families will be given these metal signs to keep.

“It’s a way to really drive home the toll drunk driving takes on human life,” said Major Rich Lockhart, commander of KCPD’s Special Operations Division. “Many people ask, ‘Why do you do checkpoints?’ The person on that sign is why.”

The first victims to be honored at a DUI checkpoint will be Diane and Anna Bronson, the 44-year-old mother and 11-year-old daughter from Belton, Mo., who were killed on July 4, 2011. A driver whose blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit was driving the wrong way on Interstate 435 that day and slammed into the Bronsons’ vehicle at 63rd Street in Kansas City. In March 2012, the driver was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Annette Murray, the sister of Diane and aunt of Anna, spoke about the cost of that drunk driver’s actions at the kick-off event Friday.

In 2011, sixteen people in Kansas City died at the hands of an impaired driver, and another 49 suffered disabling injuries.

KCPD will join other law enforcement agencies from throughout the state with stepped-up patrols and DUI checkpoints to look for impaired drivers from Aug. 17 – Sept. 3.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

Progress in hot spots

A few months ago, there was concern that our homicide rate was out of control. If you look at our daily homicide analysis, you will see we have just four more homicides than at this time last year and are at or below where we were for the three years before that. Each of these killings is a tragedy, but I assure you that violence is not spiraling out of control. The murder rate in Kansas City has remained relatively constant for a number of years.

My No. 1 priority as chief has been to reduce violent crime. We have studied where crime is most likely to occur and have devoted a great deal of resources to those neighborhoods. About half of this year’s homicides have occurred in several defined areas or within a few blocks of them. Starting the first weekend of May, we pulled officers from all over the department to saturate these areas. Since that time, no killings have taken place in those communities with the exception of an officer-involved shooting.

We’ve also made a concentrated effort to get guns out of the hands of those who should not legally have them. Through the beginning of May, our Narcotics and Vice Division has recovered 208 percent more firearms than at this point last year. This includes 573 percent more assault weapons (74 vs. 11) and 131 percent more handguns (367 vs. 119) than at this point in 2011.

This enhanced enforcement activity has not led to the displacement of crime elsewhere. None of our data show that violence is moving to other areas.

The police cannot take all credit for this progress. The people living in these neighborhoods have really stepped up. They are cooperating with us more and are becoming less tolerant of crime where they live.

Enhanced cooperation between police and residents as well as more law enforcement resources in the areas that need them most means that summer – a time of typically higher violence – can be a time of peace and safety in Kansas City.


Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

Police bust Northland businesses selling synthetic drugs

PRESS RELEASE:

Kansas City Police and other law enforcement agencies busted two Northland businesses today for selling synthetic narcotics.

Officers with the Synthetic Drug Task Force served search warrants at Discount Smokes at 2518 NE Vivion Road and the Shell Station at Vivion and Antioch roads. They arrested store employees and recovered synthetic drugs such as “plant food,” “syn,” “K2,” and “bath salts.”

Police recovered approximately 1,100 grams of suspected synthetic drugs, several thousand dollars worth of drug paraphernalia and a loaded firearm. Four people were arrested and face multiple charges for the sale of controlled substances.

“These stores and their management had been warned multiple times,” KCPD Captain Chelly Pfeifer said. “They were presented with letters from the Clay County prosecutor outlining that the substances were illegal.”

Kansas City Police have been investigating the stores targeted in today’s search warrants for as long as 10 months.

Missouri legislators banned synthetic narcotics in August 2010. The drugs have been found to be chemically similar to marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine and other illegal substances. They cause significant physical harm and psychosis that can lead to injury or suicide.

The multi-jurisdictional Synthetic Drug Task Force convened in November 2011 to combat the continuing sales of illegal synthetic drugs. The Task Force includes the Kansas City, Gladstone and North Kansas City police departments; Platte and Clay County sheriff’s departments; the Clay County Prosecutor’s Office; and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

Captain Chelly Pfeifer is president of the Northland Coalition – an organization dedicated to creating healthy and drug-free communities. The Coalition heard from a woman whose son nearly died from using synthetic drugs and still suffers significant physical problems. Talking to teenagers involved in the Northland Coalition, she learned many knew other teens who used the drugs and knew where to get them.

“I said, ‘We have to do something,’” she said. “… Our kids are getting involved in this stuff. They have the notion if it’s sold in a gas station, it’s OK. It’s ‘herbal.’ But it has devastating effects.”

Sergeant Brad Dumit of KCPD’s Vice Section said he wanted today’s actions against the stores selling the synthetic drugs to convey it will not be tolerated.

“We want to send the message that selling these things is illegal,” he said. “It’s illegal to possess it, distribute it and sell it.”

Capt. Pfeifer said the efforts of the Synthetic Drug Task Force will be ongoing.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org

Deadly weekend prompts deployment of more resources in hot spots

This weekend was a tragic one in Kansas City: six homicides and another suspicious death under investigation. I lost a friend who I’ve known since I was 12 to the violence. Anthony Carlos Richardson was killed in a domestic violence-related triple homicide on Friday. We built a two-story club house together and called each other “brothers.” More recently, we talked every day on the phone, and I still have some of the inspiring text messages he often sent me in the mornings. I heard the pain in his mother’s voice on the phone this weekend, and I know the families of victims of violent crime are feeling the same hurt.

That’s why we are committed to continuing to go where the criminals are and stop them. We’ve been doing hot spot policing for almost a month now. This weekend’s homicides were a setback, but they will not deter us. I immediately deployed additional resources this weekend, including officers who weren’t scheduled to work. We watch crime data and gather intelligence information every day and will be adjusting our deployment as needed. As Mayor Sly James said about the hot spot approach at our press conference this weekend to address the violence, “We’re in the first inning of a baseball game here.”

But if anything good came out of the three separate homicide incidents this weekend, it’s that people came forward to give police information in each of them. Charges already have been filed in the triple homicide in which my friend was killed, and police are looking into good leads in the others. It’s too early to say whether this cooperation is indicative of a changing attitude toward the police, but I hope so. If you have any information, I ask you to contact police or the TIPS Hotline (816-474-TIPS).

My strategy of hot spot policing goes hand in hand with building relationships with the community. We’re seeking to go into neighborhoods, separate the offenders from the victims, and root out weapons. We don’t want to be heavy-handed, except with those who are causing the problems.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org

Progress in crime hotspots

UPDATE, Nov. 7 :
A quick update to the stats I gave you below. Here are the full statistics for the hot spots from Oct. 22-29:

• Six homicide suspects apprehended
• Warrants cleared: 9 City, 12 State and 4 federal
• New Felon In Possession charges: 2
• New Possession of Narcotics charges:15
• New Distribution of Narcotics charges: 14
• Aggravated assault charges: 2
• Robbery charges: 1
• Total car checks/pedestrian checks/traffic violations: 662
• Search warrants served: 6
• Guns recovered: 5
• Cocaine recovered: 1,100 grams
• Marijuana recovered: 3,325 grams
• K2 recovered: 289 grams
• Cash recovered: $4,656
____________________________________________________

I wanted to give you an update on how the plan to target violent crime hot spots is going. Since we saturated these high-crime areas beginning Oct. 16, tremendous progress has been made. In just one week (Oct. 22-29), we apprehended six homicide suspects. To my knowledge, that is the first time that’s ever happened. We also have busted 17 people selling narcotics on the street, 15 for possession of narcotics and 14 for of distribution narcotics. We have contacted many potential suspects through a total of 662 car checks, pedestrian checks and traffic violations in these hot spots. We’re also still pulling the numbers together on the numerous felon-in-possession of firearms cases we’re working. We’ve also conducted many search warrants, recovered multiple firearms and drugs. Through this, we’ve cleared numerous city, state and federal warrants. More on those stats to come soon.

As I’d mentioned before, these four hot spots comprise 13 square miles and are where 50 percent of the city’s homicides and 42 percent of the aggravated assaults with guns have happened since 2009. I’m not identifying them because the criminals don’t tell us where they’re going to be, and we don’t want to do them any favors. The officers and I have spoken with the people in the target neighborhoods, and they’ve told us our efforts are making a difference.

Another part of my plan to reduce violence focuses on reducing the opportunity for the victim and offender to come together. Oftentimes, today’s victim is tomorrow’s offender. Over and over again, we see people get shot, survive, and refuse to prosecute the person who assaulted them. They want to take justice into their own hands, and this just perpetuates violence. If we know these shooting victims have involvement in narcotics and/or gangs, we are not going to just let them walk away. We will heavily encourage them to deal with their issues through the legal system. If they still refuse, we will stay on them, doing everything within the law to keep them away from the person against whom they seek revenge, even if that means arresting them for jaywalking to get them off the street. We cannot let violent feuds continue, catching innocent people in the crossfire and destroying communities.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org

Drivers with revoked licenses are dangerous

Tonight, police will conduct a driver’s license checkpoint in the southern part of the city. Many have said these checkpoints take resources away from violent crime (they don’t – these are separate officers working on grant-funded overtime) or do nothing to protect public safety. That’s simply untrue.

Our officers already had put in for a grant to conduct these checkpoints when a man with 16 prior convictions for driving without a valid license plowed into the back of a car stopped at a red light, killing 12-year-old Damian Slayton on March 27, 2010. And we have new data now that show a significant portion of the drivers in fatal crashes so far this year were driving with revoked or invalid licenses.

As of Oct. 16, 49 crashes had killed 55 people in Kansas City in 2011. Three of those were hit-and-runs we’re still trying to solve, and another one the Missouri State Highway Patrol is working. So of the 45 crashes in which we know who the driver was, 19 of those drivers were on the road with a revoked or invalid license. That’s 42 percent. Another 11 were under the influence of alcohol or drugs (and we’re still waiting on the lab results for an additional four who we suspect were DUI).

So 42 percent of known drivers in fatal crashes in Kansas City so far this year had a revoked license or none at all. These licenses were revoked for a reason, and these drivers are dangerous. Compared with licensed drivers, unlicensed drivers are 4.9 times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash, 3.7 times more likely to drive while impaired and 4.4 times more likely to be in hit-and-run crashes, according to a study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

Targeting hot spots

I said yesterday that I’d be letting you know about some of my crime-fighting strategies and priorities in the weeks and months to come, and I wanted to start by telling you about the hot spot initiative.

The hot spot initiative focuses on four separate areas totaling 13 square miles that since 2009 have been responsible for 50 percent of Kansas City’s homicides and 42 percent of its aggravated assaults with firearms. I don’t want to identify where those areas are right now because we want to stay a few steps ahead of the criminals.

The initiative began Sunday, and it involves us deploying both covert and overt operations in those hot spot areas. We are not, however, pulling resources out of any other area of the city to do this. Several of our specialized units are now working on this operation. We already have served multiple warrants and recovered drugs and firearms.

This is the immediate part of a more extensive crime-fighting plan. In 30-45 days, we’ll be putting together a committee that includes community members to look at narcotic deterrence and homicide reduction. This will be our first large-scale, community-policing project.

The hot spot initiative, meanwhile, is a long-term operation. While not sacrificing police presence anywhere else, it seeks to root out violent crime in the hardest-hit parts of town.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

KCPD is cracking down on child restraint violations Sept. 18-24

PRESS RELEASE:

Because car crashes are the No. 1 killer of kids and because nearly 73 percent of all child restraints are not used correctly, Kansas City Police will join other agencies statewide in aggressively enforcing child restraint laws.

The Child Passenger Safety Week Campaign will run from Sept. 18 to 24 and crack down on Missouri’s child safety seat law violators to try to reduce fatalities and injuries to children. The campaign will involve having extra officers on the streets and highways looking for violations of all types, but especially focusing on those involving unbuckled children. Missouri law requires all children under the age of eight to be in an appropriate child safety seat or booster seat unless they are 80 pounds or 4 feet 9 inches tall.

“Regular child safety seat and safety belt use is the most effective way to protect yourself and your children in a motor vehicle crash,” Sgt. Grant Ruark of the Traffic Enforcement Unit said. “We intend to get this message across to those who do not practice the simple habit of buckling up themselves and their children.”

For more information on Missouri’s seat belt use, visit www.saveMOlives.com

Additionally, Kansas City Police will conduct a driver’s license checkpoint tonight. During this operation, there will be signs placed in advance of the checkpoint site, and officers will be directing traffic. Motorists will be directed to a location where an officer can conduct a brief check to determine whether the motorist should be delayed longer. If not, the motorist will be delayed only a very brief period of time.

Drive safely this weekend and have a great Labor Day

Lots of you will be hitting the roads to celebrate the upcoming three-day weekend and last unofficial weekend of summer. Please be careful when you do so. According to the Missouri Highway Patrol, from 2003 to 2007 (the latest statistics available), 77 people died and 2,769 were injured on Missouri roadways over the Labor Day weekends.

We're doing our part at KCPD to make sure drivers in Kansas City stay sober. We conducted a sobriety checkpoint last night (which stopped a total of 199 cars at 634 Prospect and resulted in the arrest of eight drunk drivers, two people who were driving with revoked licenses and the recovery of a stolen car) and plan more this weekend. We also will put out saturation patrols, sometimes known as wolfpacks, to seek out drunk drivers and get them off the roads.

So enjoy these final days of summer, but do so safely and responsibly.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

KCPD cracking down on impaired drivers Aug. 19-Sept. 5

PRESS RELEASE:

The sobering fact is that impaired driving contributes to nearly 30 percent of all Missouri traffic fatalities. In 2010, 234 people were killed and 957 seriously injured in crashes involving an impaired driver. In KC, 63 percent of all fatal accidents involved an impaired driver. That’s why the Kansas City Missouri Police Department will join other Missouri law enforcement agencies to crack down on drunk driving Aug. 19-Sept. 5, 2011.

The Kansas City Missouri Police Department will participate in statewide sobriety checkpoints and DWI saturation patrols enforcing Missouri’s DWI laws and keeping impaired drivers off the road.

Consequences of drunk driving include jail time, loss of their driver licenses, or being sentenced to use ignition interlocks. Insurance rates go up. Other financial hits include attorney fees, court costs, lost time at work, and the potential loss of job or job prospects. When family, friends and co-workers find out, violators can also face tremendous personal embarrassment and humiliation.

“Driving drunk is simply not worth all the consequences,” Sgt. Ron Podraza said. “Our message is simple and unwavering: You Drink and Drive. You Lose.”


For more information, please visit http://www.savemolives.com/

Final results show success in three-day violent crime initiative

Some of the drugs and guns recovered during the Violent Crime Initiative.

An effort led by Kansas City Police put close to 200 law enforcement officers in the most violent areas of the city for three days to attack violent crime.

Running from Aug. 3 to 5, this year’s violent crime initiative followed up and expanded on the success of those in previous years. This year, KCPD and Independence Police officers, as well as agents from seven federal agencies, obtained search warrants for 50 addresses – the most ever – in the East, Central and Metro patrol divisions. Each of those divisions also provided input about problem locations and individuals to assist in the overall effort of suppressing violent crimes in these designated areas during this initiative.

This year’s initiative was conducted in two parts. The first part took place Wednesday and Thursday as officers executed 50 search warrants and many more arrest warrants.

The final results of the first phase are:

• 133 warrants cleared
• 71 new arrests
• 10 federal felon in possession charges
• Nearly 20 pounds of narcotics recovered:
   - 12 lbs. 7 oz. of K2
   - 6 lbs. 2 oz. of marijuana
   - 3.7 oz. cocaine 
   - 1.4 oz. meth
   - 210 pills
• 48 firearms recovered
• $10,725 in cash recovered
• $1,550 worth of counterfeit bills recovered in the 7900 block of Garfield
• Five drug houses posted and closed by DART (Drug Abatement Response Team)
• 649 cell phones recovered in one home in the 3700 block of Woodland
• Two children taken into protective custody in 900 block of Bellefontaine.

Police will conduct a similar operation in the suburban patrol divisions (North, Shoal Creek and South) in the coming months.

Part two of the three-day initiative involves the 200-plus officers and agents involved in the operation going door-to-door in neighborhoods today to get new leads on five unsolved homicide cases. Their work today already has developed additional information in several of the investigations. The cases for which they’re pursuing tips are:

• Mauro Brito-Pacheco: 38-year-old Pacheco was shot at about 6:42 p.m. Aug. 10, 2009, when he struggled with robbers at his place of business, Tina’s Hair Salon, located at 922 W. 24th St. Witnesses said three men fled from the scene.

• Earl Ricks III: 33-year-old Ricks appeared to be riding a bicycle when he was shot at about 5:57 p.m. October 17, 2010, at 34th and Bellefontaine.

• Marshall Blacksure: 26-year-old Blacksure was found shot to death on the sidewalk at Roberts and Bales at about 8 p.m. June 22, 2011. A second shooting victim arrived at a local hospital about 20 minutes later saying he was shot in the arm at the same location as Blacksure. Witnesses said a red Chevy Camaro fled the scene immediately after the shooting.

• Paul Nelson: 23-year-old Paul Nelson was found dead in the park at Linwood and Park at about 11:27 p.m. June 29, 2011, from an apparent gunshot wound.

• Keith Handson: 33-y.o. Handson was found suffering from apparent stab wounds at Independence and Bales at about 11:36 p.m. July 7, 2011.

Anyone with information on these cases is asked to call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477).

Federal agencies who participated in the operation include: the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Immigration and Customs Enforcement; U.S. Marshals Service; United States Postal Inspection Service; Drug Enforcement Administration and Internal Revenue Service. The Jackson County Prosecutor’s and U.S. Attorney’s offices and Clay County Sheriff’s Department also assisted in the operation.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

Police to conduct driver's license checkpoint Wednesday night

PRESS RELEASE:

South Patrol Division and Traffic Investigation Section officers will conduct a driver’s license checkpoint May 25.

The checkpoint will take place from about 9 p.m. to midnight. Drivers will be briefly detained and asked to present their license. The locations of the checkpoints will be areas known for high numbers of alcohol- and drug-related crashes.

The majority of drivers who have had their licenses suspended or revoked have been convicted of driving under the influence of an intoxicating substance. Drivers who have no license or whose license has been revoked are 4.9 times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash, according to a study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

Kansas City Police conducted six driver’s license checkpoints in 2010 and found that about 1 in 20 drivers was on the road illegally.

Police to combat "420" DUIs

PRESS RELEASE:

Once again, Kansas City Police will be out in force to combat those driving under the influence on a day known as a holiday in the drug culture.

April 20, or 4/20, is a day of widespread marijuana use, which Sergeant Daniel Graves of the Kansas City Missouri Police Department said can mean danger on the road.

“People need to recognize that a DUI is not just from alcohol,” he said. “Driving high is just as deadly.”

The Kansas City Missouri Police Department will saturate the roadways April 20 to enforce traffic laws with a specific eye out for those who may be using marijuana. The officers will pay special attention to areas around schools, parks and locations known for drug use.

Sergeant Graves said he wants to continue to use this day to educate parents about the meaning of “420” and the culture surrounding it, as has been done in the past few years.

“It’s in all kinds of rap, hip hop and rock songs your kids may be listening to,” he said. “We’re finding that many parents don’t realize this code.”

The common story of how 420 came to represent the cannabis culture is that of high schoolers in San Rafael, Calif., who met after school in 1971 to smoke weed at 4:20 p.m. because that’s when detention let out. Marijuana enthusiasts extended that to 4/20, or April 20.

Once again this year, 4/20 will mean heightened police presence on Kansas City-area roads and near schools.

“We will not let up on making our streets safer for everyone,” Sergeant Graves said.

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Youth seat belt enforcement campaign is March 15-31

In addition to the extra DUI enforcement we're conducting around the St. Patrick's Day holiday (41 people were arrested at a checkpoint last night at 39th Street and Southwest Trafficway, and another checkpoint is scheduled this weekend), KCPD also has received grant funding to conduct extra seat belt enforcement, especially among teenagers. Here's the press release:

The Kansas City Missouri Police Department is joining with several other law enforcement agencies for an aggressive mobilization from March 15 to 31 to crack down on Missouri’s seat belt law violators in an effort to reduce traffic fatalities.

Nearly one in four Missourians still fail to regularly wear their seat belts when driving or riding in a motor vehicle. Teens are even less likely to wear their seat belts with only 66 percent regularly buckling up. Eight out of ten teens killed in traffic crashes are unbuckled.

"It’s that time of year when teen drivers are out more than ever,” Traffic Enforcement Unit Sergeant Grant Ruark said. “Warmer weather is approaching, and prom season is right around the corner, so it is important that we get as many of our young drivers and passengers to buckle up as possible. The statistics regarding teens and seat belt use are alarming. We’ve got to do more. We want them to ‘Arrive Alive.’”

For information on Missouri seat belt usage, visit www.saveMOlives.com.


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Police, MoDOT unveil new tool to combat drunk driving

PRESS RELEASE:

The Kansas City Missouri Police Department will unveil a new tool Tuesday that will help with the effort to get drunk drivers off the road.

Police presented the new Mobile DUI Enforcement Center (MDEC) at a news conference at March 15 behind KCPD’s Metro Patrol Division Station. The MDEC was funded by a grant from the Missouri Department of Transportation.

The vehicle is being unveiled in advance of the statewide crackdown on drunk driving during the St. Patrick’s Day holiday. KCPD plans two DUI checkpoints between March 16 and 20.

Kansas City, Mo., significantly leads the state in alcohol-involved crashes, alcohol-involved fatal crashes and alcohol-involved serious injury crashes. About 63 percent of Kansas City’s traffic deaths in 2010 were attributed to someone driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. KCPD worked to get these dangerous drivers off the road by making 1,661 DUI arrests in 2010.

The new, grant-funded $395,000 Mobile DUI Enforcement Center will allow Kansas City Police to combat drunk drivers at sobriety checkpoints and other impaired driving enforcement operations. Officers will be able to process up to five impaired drivers at once and administer breath alcohol tests. The MDEC also has built-in computers that will be connected to the department’s network.

The MDEC replaces a 24-year-old recreational vehicle KCPD had been using as a command post at sobriety checkpoints.

“The Mobile DUI Enforcement Center will replace the Mobile Operations Sobriety Testing vehicle currently used,” said Sergeant Ron Podraza, supervisor of KCPD’s DUI Section. “The outdated MOST is an RV fabricated to serve as a breath testing vehicle. The MDEC was designed to serve as a DUI enforcement center during sobriety checkpoint operations. Knowing that funding for this type of vehicle only comes along once in a generation, the MDEC was built with longevity in mind. The MDEC will serve our citizens for many years to come, combating the scourge of impaired drivers."

Kansas City Police also plan to take the MDEC to community events for the public to tour. It will be used during the St. Patrick's Day enforcement later this week.

Successful Operation LASER

KCPD’s Career Criminal Squad and HIDTA (High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area) Section recently played big roles in the U.S. Marshals Service’s Operation LASER, which enforced sex offender registration in eastern Jackson County. LASER stands for Local Agencies Supervise and Enforce Registrations, and we did just that on March 4 and are continuing to follow up on these cases.

With everyone from the FBI to the Lake Tapawingo Police Departments, officers from nine agencies worked out of the Lee’s Summit Police Department’s headquarters March 4 to check on 160 registered sex offenders in nine eastern Jackson County cities. Police found that 50 of them were out of compliance with state and federal sex offender registration laws or were violating their probation (such as having a computer when they were ordered not to). Nineteen were arrested that day, and officers are out looking for another 31. Two had child pornography on their computers, and an additional two computers are being examined.

Investigators with the U.S. Marshals are assigned to KCPD’s Career Criminal Squad and led this initiative. The Marshals are tasked with enforcing the Adam Walsh Act, a federal law passed in 2006 that requires sex offenders from one state who move to another to register as a sex offender in their new state of residence. Police found two possible violations of this law during their sweep.

Behind the scenes, KCPD’s HIDTA Section’s investigators and analysts prepared information on all 160 of the offenders, including their pictures, last known addresses, criminal histories and any other possible investigations they might be involved in.

All of this is part of an ongoing effort by the U.S. Marshals, KCPD and other area law enforcement agencies to ensure convicted sex offenders are in compliance with the law and don’t present a danger to society. Click to see the Missouri Sex Offender Registry.

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