Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Teen killed in 1500 block of Belmont identified
At 3:22 p.m. Monday, May 31, police were called to a home in the 1500 block of Belmont because of a shooting. When they arrived, they found 16-year-old Juan C. Garcia of Kansas City, Mo., lying in the front yard. He was transported to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later. Witnesses said the victim and the suspect - an Hispanic male about 20 years old - were arguing in the street when the suspect shot Garcia. The suspect fled in a gold Dodge Caravan. Anyone with information is asked to call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477).
Have you seen this person of interest in a violent assault?
At about 3 a.m. Friday, May 28, in the area of 6200 Main, a 25-year-old man contacted officers. The man was suffering from head injuries and told the officers he and his friend had been robbed and beaten. Nearby in a parking lot, officers located a 21-year-old female. The woman was unconscious and had severe head trauma from an apparent beating. Both victims were transported to an area hospital, where the woman remains in critical condition. The man was treated and later released. Both victims said they were confronted by two males in the parking lot, at which time they were robbed, beaten, and kicked. They said both males were armed, and they used handguns to beat them along with kicking and stomping on both of their heads.
The attached pictures were taken from surveillance video at about 11:40 a.m. May 28 and feature a male possibly involved in the robbery. He's in the red shirt. One picture shows him with a small boy, and another shows the car he was driving. Anyone with information about this person or anyone else involved in the incident should call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477).
The attached pictures were taken from surveillance video at about 11:40 a.m. May 28 and feature a male possibly involved in the robbery. He's in the red shirt. One picture shows him with a small boy, and another shows the car he was driving. Anyone with information about this person or anyone else involved in the incident should call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477).
Friday, May 28, 2010
Victims found dead in shopping cart identified
Just after 6 p.m. yesterday, May 27, the TIPS Hotline received a call from someone who said there were two dead bodies near a house at 45th and Askew. Officers found two deceased males behind a home in the 4500 block of Askew. Their bodies were in a shopping cart. They have been identified as 21-year-old John L. Hooker (left) and 18-year-old Joseph L. Hooker (right).
Detectives are investigating the deaths as homicides and ask anyone with information to call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477).
More driver's license checkpoint results
Kansas City Police conducted another driver's license checkpoint from 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. yesterday at another location known for crashes and drunk driving arrests: 2251 NW Barry Road. They checked nearly twice as many cars as they have during previous checkpoints - 2,095. In about 1 of every 31 cars checked, the driver did not have a valid operator's license with them or at all. The arrests and citations issued are as follows:
DUI: 1
Driving with a revoked license: 10 (two were persistent offenders, including one man who was revoked with the restriction on an ignition interlock system for DUI prevention, which he did not have on his car)
No license: 56
Warrants: 15
Seat belt citations: 2
No insurance: 1
Open liquor container: 1
More checkpoints are planned throughout the city in coming weeks.
Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org
DUI: 1
Driving with a revoked license: 10 (two were persistent offenders, including one man who was revoked with the restriction on an ignition interlock system for DUI prevention, which he did not have on his car)
No license: 56
Warrants: 15
Seat belt citations: 2
No insurance: 1
Open liquor container: 1
More checkpoints are planned throughout the city in coming weeks.
Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org
Photos from Thursday's annual Memorial Service
Flag draped in front of Headquarters
21-gun salute
Riderless horse
Pipe and drum corps
Color Guard
Honor Guard
Motorcycle wedge
Speech
Police helicopter fly-over
Playing "Taps" on the trumpet
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Man killed in 5300 block of Sunset Place identified
At about 1 a.m. today, May 27, officers were called to a home in the 5300 block of Sunset Place. When they arrived, they found 49-year-old Michael J. Tutera dead inside the house (the above picture of Tutera is from 2003). He was the homeowner. Detectives have determined it was a homicide and are following some good leads and ask anyone with information to call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477).
Remembering the fallen
We just wrapped up the annual Kansas City Missouri Police Department Memorial Service during which we take time to remember the officers who have given their lives in the line of duty. Below are my remarks from the event, and I hope to have some pictures up later today.
"Welcome, and thank you for coming here today as we celebrate another year without a new name etched into this memorial while taking the time to mourn those whose names are inscribed here. The 119 men whose names are listed here and who are represented by the 119 flags before you were killed in the line of duty, and it is right that we take time to pause and give thanks for their sacrifices, and the sacrifices made by their family and friends. Some died at the hands of a suspect, others in car and helicopter crashes. Every one of them died serving the people of Kansas City, Missouri, and for that, we should all be grateful.
This past year, we heaved a collective sigh of relief after many officers encountered brushes with death and came out alive. One officer is back on the job after she suffered life-threatening injuries when she was hit by a car on an icy stretch of highway. She put herself in harm’s way to stop another crash victim from getting out of her car when another vehicle spun out of control on the ice and struck her.
A dashboard camera captured two officers who encountered a suspect in a park last September who was intent on killing them. The officers returned fire and stopped him, but watching the events replay on video, we get a sick feeling in our stomachs as we are reminded how quickly the situation might have turned out differently. Another dashboard camera filmed an officer processing a car at a DUI traffic stop, only to be struck by another drunk driver who came careening down the road. The officer, thankfully, suffered only minor injuries.
And just last month, I presented a Medal of Valor to an officer who put the safety of others well above his own, even though he was off-duty, out of uniform and had no police equipment available to him. He walked into a toxic cloud generated from an acid spill on the highway to get the other motorists around him out of harm’s way as quickly as possible. He did get those drivers to safety, but he was overcome by acid fumes and had to be transported to the hospital for respiratory treatment.
What kind of people would do these things? What kind of people would put the safety of others before their own, or confront a suspect who shot at them? These are police officers, and the late broadcaster Paul Harvey summed them up well in a poem he wrote many years ago titled, “Policeman,” which we know today refers to both police men and police women. Harvey’s own father was a police officer who was killed in the line of duty when Harvey was a child, and he admired law enforcement the rest of his life. Here are some excerpts from that poem:
'A Policeman is a composite of what all men are, I guess, mingling of saint and sinner, dust and deity. …
What is a policeman? He, of all men, is at once the most needed and the most wanted. A strangely nameless creature who is ‘sir’ to his face and ‘pig’ or worse behind his back. …
He must be such a diplomat that he can settle differences between individuals so that each will think he won.
He must make instant decisions which would require months for a lawyer. But if he hurries, he's careless; if he is deliberate, he's lazy. He must be first to an accident, infallible with a diagnosis. He must be able to start breathing, stop bleeding, tie splints and, above all, be sure the victim goes home without a limp. Or expect to be sued. …
A policeman must know everything and not tell. He must know where all of the sin is and not partake.
The policeman, from a single human hair, must be able to describe the crime, the weapon, the criminal - and tell you where the criminal is hiding.
But...If he catches the criminal, he's lucky; if he doesn't, he's a dunce. If he gets promoted, he has political pull; if he doesn't, he's a dullard. The policeman must chase bum leads to a dead-end, stake out ten nights to tag one witness who saw it happen-but refuses to remember. ...
The policeman must be a minister, a social worker, a diplomat, a tough guy and a gentleman.
And, of course, he’ll have to be a genius because he’ll have to feed a family on a policeman's salary.'
Today, we remember the sacrifices of those who were all these things and died because of it. We also pray for the safety of those who continue to serve the people of this city in spite of the dangers they face daily. Please thank them and their families for what they do."
Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org
"Welcome, and thank you for coming here today as we celebrate another year without a new name etched into this memorial while taking the time to mourn those whose names are inscribed here. The 119 men whose names are listed here and who are represented by the 119 flags before you were killed in the line of duty, and it is right that we take time to pause and give thanks for their sacrifices, and the sacrifices made by their family and friends. Some died at the hands of a suspect, others in car and helicopter crashes. Every one of them died serving the people of Kansas City, Missouri, and for that, we should all be grateful.
This past year, we heaved a collective sigh of relief after many officers encountered brushes with death and came out alive. One officer is back on the job after she suffered life-threatening injuries when she was hit by a car on an icy stretch of highway. She put herself in harm’s way to stop another crash victim from getting out of her car when another vehicle spun out of control on the ice and struck her.
A dashboard camera captured two officers who encountered a suspect in a park last September who was intent on killing them. The officers returned fire and stopped him, but watching the events replay on video, we get a sick feeling in our stomachs as we are reminded how quickly the situation might have turned out differently. Another dashboard camera filmed an officer processing a car at a DUI traffic stop, only to be struck by another drunk driver who came careening down the road. The officer, thankfully, suffered only minor injuries.
And just last month, I presented a Medal of Valor to an officer who put the safety of others well above his own, even though he was off-duty, out of uniform and had no police equipment available to him. He walked into a toxic cloud generated from an acid spill on the highway to get the other motorists around him out of harm’s way as quickly as possible. He did get those drivers to safety, but he was overcome by acid fumes and had to be transported to the hospital for respiratory treatment.
What kind of people would do these things? What kind of people would put the safety of others before their own, or confront a suspect who shot at them? These are police officers, and the late broadcaster Paul Harvey summed them up well in a poem he wrote many years ago titled, “Policeman,” which we know today refers to both police men and police women. Harvey’s own father was a police officer who was killed in the line of duty when Harvey was a child, and he admired law enforcement the rest of his life. Here are some excerpts from that poem:
'A Policeman is a composite of what all men are, I guess, mingling of saint and sinner, dust and deity. …
What is a policeman? He, of all men, is at once the most needed and the most wanted. A strangely nameless creature who is ‘sir’ to his face and ‘pig’ or worse behind his back. …
He must be such a diplomat that he can settle differences between individuals so that each will think he won.
He must make instant decisions which would require months for a lawyer. But if he hurries, he's careless; if he is deliberate, he's lazy. He must be first to an accident, infallible with a diagnosis. He must be able to start breathing, stop bleeding, tie splints and, above all, be sure the victim goes home without a limp. Or expect to be sued. …
A policeman must know everything and not tell. He must know where all of the sin is and not partake.
The policeman, from a single human hair, must be able to describe the crime, the weapon, the criminal - and tell you where the criminal is hiding.
But...If he catches the criminal, he's lucky; if he doesn't, he's a dunce. If he gets promoted, he has political pull; if he doesn't, he's a dullard. The policeman must chase bum leads to a dead-end, stake out ten nights to tag one witness who saw it happen-but refuses to remember. ...
The policeman must be a minister, a social worker, a diplomat, a tough guy and a gentleman.
And, of course, he’ll have to be a genius because he’ll have to feed a family on a policeman's salary.'
Today, we remember the sacrifices of those who were all these things and died because of it. We also pray for the safety of those who continue to serve the people of this city in spite of the dangers they face daily. Please thank them and their families for what they do."
Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Police Memorial Service set for tomorrow
PRESS RELEASE:
The Kansas City Missouri Police Department will honor its 119 officers killed in the line of duty throughout the department’s history with a Memorial Service beginning at 11 a.m. Thursday, May 27, in front of Police Headquarters on Locust Street, between 11th and 12th streets.
The service will include an honor guard, a 21-gun salute from the steps of City Hall, the KCPD Color Guard, bagpipers, a flyover by the police helicopter, and a riderless horse representing fallen officers. Dispatcher L.C. Clark will read the names of all KCPD officers killed in the line of duty – the first in 1881 and the last in 2001. There will be 119 flags on display in front of Headquarters representing each one of these officers. For 119 hours preceding the service, dispatchers read one officer’s name per hour over the police radio system. The last officer’s name, Craig Schultz, will be read immediately before the ceremony begins Thursday.
Locust will be closed between 11th and 12th streets from about 10:30 a.m. to noon for the ceremony. In the event of rain, the ceremony will take place inside the basement of police headquarters, which can be accessed from 12th Street. The public is invited to attend.
The Kansas City Missouri Police Department will honor its 119 officers killed in the line of duty throughout the department’s history with a Memorial Service beginning at 11 a.m. Thursday, May 27, in front of Police Headquarters on Locust Street, between 11th and 12th streets.
The service will include an honor guard, a 21-gun salute from the steps of City Hall, the KCPD Color Guard, bagpipers, a flyover by the police helicopter, and a riderless horse representing fallen officers. Dispatcher L.C. Clark will read the names of all KCPD officers killed in the line of duty – the first in 1881 and the last in 2001. There will be 119 flags on display in front of Headquarters representing each one of these officers. For 119 hours preceding the service, dispatchers read one officer’s name per hour over the police radio system. The last officer’s name, Craig Schultz, will be read immediately before the ceremony begins Thursday.
Locust will be closed between 11th and 12th streets from about 10:30 a.m. to noon for the ceremony. In the event of rain, the ceremony will take place inside the basement of police headquarters, which can be accessed from 12th Street. The public is invited to attend.
Dispatches from Mexico: Last week in Morelia
The 10 officers from our department who went to further their Spanish language skills in Mexico for five weeks have returned home! Here's a wrap-up of their last days there from guest blogger Sergeant Lionel Colon:
This week wraps up our immersion experience. A lot of time will be spent studying for finals and getting in the last minute shopping for souvenirs.
May 16
Sunday Free-day! We all met at the school shortly after noon for a visit to our professor Lucia's new home for some socializing and snacks. On her wall were group photos of previous Spanish classes. On the couch and dinner table were accents from Kansas City's Pier One.
We then took a 45-minute ride to the mountain restaurant El Rincon De Villa. Lucia's extended family met us there for some fine dining. We were held up for about an hour by and unexpected rainstorm. It started out quite refreshing but soon turned into a muddy mess surrounding the area. Thankfully, our bus was only stuck in the mud for a short time.
May 18
Happy Birthday Morelia! Again, class until early afternoon ... homework ... etc. The downtown was all in a buzz. The streets were shut down all day. Parades and other festivities filled the area.
May 19
After classes today, we met at C.C.L. for our last Spanish/English exchange with the students. This has been one of the most rewarding exchange experiences. Many of the students are preparing to study in exchanges in the USA.
May 20
Last call for questions for the teacher! We spent the day reviewing and preparing for Friday's final exams. Later that evening we met again with your professors to make up hours of study due to earlier scheduling conflicts.
May 21
Finals...what we have been prepairing for but now faced with the daunting task of completing the one year's worth of Spanish instruction that we tackled this month here in Morelia. Between exams, we found time to celebrate one of our birthdays with a tres leches con chocolate cake. Wow, did our taste buds sing!
After the last exam we all sighed relief and went home to prepare for our return home to the USA. Later in the evening we all met at the mountaintop to celerate our accomplishments and also the birthday.
May 22
Last day, last-minute events - time with our respective hosts families, the zoo, the market, the movies, the packing all squeezed in our last moments here. The clock is ticking until we meet at 0330 hours to load up the bus and head to the airport.
The 10 officers in Spanish immersion training.
Thank you to the KCPD, the KIIS staff and our host families for investing in our lives. Morelia, Michoacan, is a city rich in culture and warm people. We hope to return better equipped to serve our Department, our citizens and our families as this experience has had an impact in all areas of our lives.
Bidding farewell to Morelia at night
Be Home In A Few!
Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Kansas police chiefs award KCPD officers for valor
On Nov. 1, 2009, they helped arrest a dangerous career criminal in Olathe outside a restaurant. The suspect fired at officers, who returned fire and wounded him. No officers or others were wounded. The KACP Gold Award they earned recognizes “uncommon valor in the line of duty.”
At KCPD, Detectives Bailey and Cooley are assigned to the Fugitive Apprehension Unit. Congratulations, Detectives.
Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org
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