Serial rapist case: an update and dispelling rumors

The case of the serial rapist in the Waldo and Brookside areas has received vast amounts of media coverage and been the subject of many internet groups and postings. This is both good and bad. It gets the information out there, but it also propagates fear, irrationality and rumors. I wanted to both update you on the case and address some of those rumors. First, the status of the case:

Five women have been raped in their homes in the Waldo and Brookside areas from Sept. 29, 2009, to Feb. 22 of this year. All the women lived alone and were home alone at the time. We have dedicated 10 detectives and three sergeants to investigate the case full time. To date, we have received 434 tips, and detectives are looking into every one of them. We also have culled lots of evidence from the scene of each sexual assault, and the scientists at our Crime Lab are busy examining and processing that evidence.

Our Metro Patrol Division officers are conducting extra patrols in the area. Officers who are not on another call or are not geographically far away have been going through the streets of Waldo and Brookside. The Metro Patrol Community Interaction Officer and other CIOs have received hundreds of requests to conduct home security surveys, and we’re training additional officers to help conduct those. Our officers continue to meet with community groups and are assisting the Sex Crimes Section with anything they need.

Now, I wanted to dispel some rumors that have cropped up:

• Rumor: Police are looking for a dark blue Chevy four-door car.
Fact: Police have no suspect vehicle description of any kind. If you see someone in any type of car acting suspiciously, call police.

• Rumor: Police are hiding what they know.
Fact: Once we realized there was a pattern to these rapes, we immediately informed the media, put it on our web site and this blog and took a number of other steps to get the information out there. However, we cannot jeopardize our investigation by disclosing what evidence we have or what exactly the rapist’s M.O. was during his crimes. Disclosing too much information could not only make the suspect harder to catch, it also could make it harder to prosecute him. We are trying to balance releasing information that can keep the public safe (like letting them know the rapist has entered through unlocked doors and windows and reminding them to lock their own) with information that could jeopardize the whole case.

For reliable information on this case, keep an eye on this blog and at http://www.kcpd.org/.

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Gov. Nixon appoints Alvin Brooks to Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon has named Alvin Brooks to serve on the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners. He will replace James B. Wilson, whose term has expired. Brooks' appointment is subject to confirmation by the Missouri Senate. Read more about Al, a former KCPD police officer, in the governor's press release.

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Officer devotes himself to helping 27th and Prospect

On Tuesday, we presented a Meritorious Service Award to Officer Corey Carlisle - a young officer at East Patrol Division who has a heart for the inner city, largely because he grew up there. Here's what he did:

For too long, Officer Carlisle watched large numbers of people in the area of 27th and Prospect using and selling drugs, participating in prostitution, trespassing and violating multiple nuisance ordinances.

In June 2009, he decided to make a difference in the lives of those who lived, worked and frequented the area. He started learning about the population’s demographics and the specific problems in the area. He put together a thorough plan to identify what led to the area’s issues and how to resolve them that included law enforcement and social service agencies.

Officer Carlisle then created a “knowledge management system” computer program accessible by all department members on the KCPD intranet. This included photos and information of those who frequent the 27th and Prospect area such as a record of the individuals’ contact with police, ordinance violations and property ownership. He showed the program to officers from other divisions so they can use it for their own projects.

Next, he contacted community leaders, business owners, property owners, residents, social service agencies and anyone else he thought could or would help resolve the issues of 27th and Prospect. He coordinated meetings and encouraged other East Patrol members to increase enforcement activity in the area.

The culmination of Carlisle’s work was a community outreach program called “Beyond the Cuffs” that involved police and social service agency leaders. The first major outreach took place Oct. 21, 2009, at Morningstar Baptist Church. Twenty-one people who were identified as living risky lifestyles were fed, examined by doctors and offered free, in-patient addiction treatment. Beyond the Cuffs was so successful that subsequent outreach events followed.

Sergeant Richard Anthony said, “Officer Carlisle has utilized superior problem-solving skills in an ongoing effort to achieve a long-term, significant impact on the problems facing the area of 27th and Prospect.”

Captain Jeff Emery agreed and said Officer Carlisle “has truly established a positive relationship with the citizens who reside in the area and has shown that he is genuinely concerned about improving their overall living conditions.”

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Vigilante justice isn't the answer

As I’ve said before, I know this is a very frightening time for residents of the Waldo and Brookside areas, especially women living alone. But that does not mean it is OK to put yourself at risk and attempt to take justice into your own hands.

Someone did just that last night and almost got killed. The man thought he saw someone who resembled the description of the serial rapist who has attacked five women in the Waldo and Brookside areas. That man followed the person he thought was the rapist into Kansas City, Kan. The man being followed eventually got out of his car and shot at the man following him. Police took the shooter into custody but have no reason to believe he is the serial rapist.

Being a vigilante is not safe for anyone. If you see someone suspicious, CALL POLICE. Police undergo thousands of hours of training and have years’ worth of experience to deal with these situations. The average resident does not. They put themselves at extreme risk trying to deal with suspected criminals on their own. Police will respond to your call as quickly as possible to deal with the situation.

And while we encourage everyone in the Waldo and Brookside areas to be on alert for the rape suspect, we do not want terror and panic to set in. It leads to irrational actions just like what happened last night. If anything, we want the people in these neighborhoods and throughout the city to feel empowered, not afraid. Track crime reports in your neighborhood. Attend a personal safety class. Get involved with your neighborhood association, become acquainted with everyone who lives around you, and look out for each other. Know that you have a highly trained and dedicated police force working around the clock to protect you. These calm actions will lead to real justice.

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Highlights of the Feb. 23 Board of Police Commissioners meeting

• City Auditor Gary White presented the results of the 3rd quarter FY 2010 Citizen Satisfaction Survey. A total of 61 percent of residents said they were satisfied or very satisfied with the quality of local police protection. Click for full survey results.

• City Councilwoman Cathy Jolly, chair of the Public Safety and Neighborhoods Committee, said she was pleased with the success of the city’s red light cameras program and was in discussions with Union Pacific to install similar cameras at railroad crossings. She said the rail company had approached her about initiating the project. She also explained the success of the city’s Aim 4 Peace program and the ongoing efforts to find funding for it.

• Deputy Chief Cy Ritter said KCPD is down 70 officers in the field at present. However, two classes of 30 recruits each are currently attending the Police Academy. D.C. Ritter also said police had been working to increase their visibility in neighborhoods throughout the city by placing Mounted Patrol and Canine units on patrol.

• Deputy Chief Kevin Masters reported that the Investigations Bureau is devoting a considerable amount of resources to investigating a serial rapist in the Waldo/Brookside area.

• Human Resources Manager Doug Weishar presented about the development of a computer program for an employee early warning/risk management system. The program is called SEERS – or Successful Employee Enhancement and Retention System. The program is being designed for sworn personnel and will track such things as Office of Community Complaints cases against the officer, officer-involved shootings, response to resistance reports, accidental discharge of firearms, assaults on the officer, arrests involving resistance and sick time usage. Weishar said the purpose of the program is to identify individual officers who may be having job performance difficulties and work to correct those issues as quickly as possible.

• Board Vice President Karl Zobrist said he would like to commit to paper some of the standard practices the Kansas City Board uses to maintain the highest standards of conduct to avoid some of the issues facing the Board of Police Commissioners in St. Louis. Some of those practices of the Kansas City board include: rotating office-holders annually, having an audit committee and notifying the rest of the board and public if a member has any conflict of interest in an issue and abstaining from the vote if he/she does.

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Identity of woman shot by officers when she drove her car at them released

At about 10:22 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 23, officers were in the area of Truman and Indiana when their police vehicle was nearly struck by a small sport utility vehicle. The officers tried to stop the vehicle, but the driver, now identified as 19-year-old Jessica D. Jones of Kansas City, Kan., refused to stop. Believing the vehicle presented a danger to the public because of unsafe driving, the officers pursued the SUV to the area of 31st and Terrace. Jones turned south on Terrace from 31st Street, stopping in a dead end. The officers exited their vehicles, and Jones turned around and began to drive at the officers. The officers shot at Jones and killed her.

Jones was the sole occupant of the vehicle. Four officers shot at the car. No officer was injured. They are on routine administrative leave while the shooting is investigated.

Detectives have discovered that the SUV Jones was driving had been stolen from Overland Park, Kan. The investigation into the incident is ongoing.

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Kansas City Police tell motorists to Click It or Ticket tomorrow

PRESS RELEASE:

The Kansas City Missouri Police Department announced today it is joining with other law enforcement agencies Thursday, Feb. 25, for an aggressive “Click It or Ticket” mobilization to crack down on safety belt and child restraint law violators in an effort to reduce fatalities.

“Nearly every day, someone dies in a crash in Missouri because they weren’t wearing a seat belt,” said Sgt. Grant Ruark of the Traffic Enforcement Unit. “So far this year in Kansas City, Missouri, we have had a real decrease in fatal crashes as compared to the same time last year. While this is obviously great news we cannot let up. Wearing a seat belt is the single most effective way to protect people and reduce fatalities in motor vehicle crashes.”

To date, there have been five traffic fatalities in Kansas City in 2010 compared to 13 at this time in 2009.

Out of the 40 vehicle drivers and passengers killed in Kansas City traffic crashes in 2009, just seven of them were wearing seatbelts. Ten of those 40 were ejected from their vehicles.

Nearly one in four Missouri motorists still fail to regularly wear their safety belts. Only 77 percent of Missourians buckle up regularly which is 7 percent less than the national average.

Failure to regularly wear a safety belt can be deadly. In 2008, 489 people killed in traffic crashes were not wearing their seat belts. Seven out of ten Missourians killed in traffic crashes are unbuckled.

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

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Teen killed at bus depot identified

At about 1:45 p.m. yesterday, Feb. 22, police were called to the Metro Center KCATA bus depot at 39th and Troost on a reported shooting. Upon arrival, they found a deceased male on the floor of the depot suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He has been identified as 18-year-old Avion D. Williamson of Kansas City, Mo.

Witnesses reported that Williamson was with a group of people inside the bus depot waiting area. He went outside with the group, then he came back inside and sat down. Another member of the group that had been outside then walked back inside and shot Williamson multiple times. The male suspect fled the area on foot.

Police have no suspects in custody. Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477).

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Police doing everything they can to catch Waldo-area rapist

I know women living in the Waldo and Brookside areas are terribly anxious and upset right now about what's going on in their neighborhood. No one should have to live in fear in their own homes that they might be the next victim of a serial rapist. I just wanted those women to know that Kansas City police are not sitting idly by and letting this happen. We are devoting as much manpower as we can to this case (while still working thousands of other cases in the rest of the city).

Since the serial rapist resurfaced in mid-January, we have had 10 detectives devoted to this case full time tracking down the 286 tips we'd gotten up through last night (before the latest rape). Every single tip has been investigated. Our crime scene investigators and detectives have spent 12 hours and counting at the home of last night's victim - unusual for even a murder case - trying to find every shred of evidence they possibly can to identify and capture the suspect before he can hurt anyone else. We also spent considerable time at the scenes of the previous assaults. We worked with victims to develop a composite sketch of the suspect and have distributed that sketch as widely as we can.

We have conducted many additional patrols in Waldo and Brookside and have done numerous security surveys for residents who live there. (If you'd like a free security survey, call your patrol division's Community Interaction Officer.) Our officers have met with numerous neighborhood groups to tell them about the investigation.

We've also offered numerous, free, personal safety classes. In fact, one more is scheduled for this week from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 23, at the Scottish Rite Temple at 1330 E. Linwood. This class will discuss personal safety at home and in public, self-defense techniques, protecting yourself from drug-facilitated sexual assaults, different types of weapons and a question-and-answer session. Crime prevention brochures also will be available.

With your help - the tip that cracks the case (the reward now stands at more than $6,000) - we can ensure justice is served to this despicable criminal and end the fear in this community.

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Victim killed at 24th and Highland identified

At about 11:55 p.m. yesterday, Feb. 21, police were called to the intersection of 24th Street and Highland in regard to an ambulance call. Upon arrival, officers found a deceased man lying on the ground. He has been identified as 20-year-old Michael E. Baker Jr. of Kansas City, Mo.

There are no suspects in custody, and detectives ask anyone with information to call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477).

Baker's homicide is Kansas City's 11th of 2010, compared to 16 at this date in both 2009 and 2008.

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