Police awarded for making big difference in neighborhood

The officers of the Metro Patrol 210 sector were honored with a Special Unit Citation for their outstanding community policing efforts in a particular Kansas City neighborhood. Check out what they did:

The Eastwood Hills Neighborhood of Kansas City is a much more enjoyable place to live thanks to the work of five dedicated Metro Patrol Division Officers.

Beginning in July 2009, five officers on different watches assigned to the 210 sector had taken it upon themselves to substantially reduce crime in Eastwood Hills. The officers were Terrence Owen, Russell Lee, Angela Conaway, Nathan Magers and David Nathan.

When they weren’t handling other calls, these officers did as much proactive work as they could in the neighborhood. They made 17 state arrests, 60 city arrests, wrote 56 traffic tickets and recovered a firearm and stolen car. They conducted surveillance to catch one suspect wanted for robbery and another wanted on aggravated assault. In three months, the officers attended seven community meetings, most of which they did on their own, off-duty time. They made an effort to get out on foot to get to know neighbors and kept in constant contact with them in person and by e-mail. The officers also organized two Night Out Against Crime events featuring KCPD’s Mounted Patrol and Canine Sections, specialized squad cars and ATVs. Sergeant William Hewitt said the events were heavily attended and strengthened relationships between police and the community.

The officers really focused their efforts on Eastwood Hills from July to October 2009. Compared with the same time period in 2008, suspicious drug activity fell 44 percent, burglaries dropped 38 percent, suspicious vehicles dropped 23 percent and 42 percent fewer groups of juveniles were dispersed.

Letters and e-mails of thanks poured in from the community. One wrote the following in a letter to Chief Corwin in September 2009: “I want to let you know how wonderful it is to have Kansas City’s finest working in our neighborhood. The things they have accomplished here since the first week in July is just about unbelievable. Our life is much better because we feel safer.”

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Officer saves boy from drowning

Here's another officer with a great story that we honored at our Sept. 23 ceremony. Officer Eric De Valkenaere received the Life-Saving Award for actions he took while he was off duty. The night was really special because Officer DeValkenaere was reunited at the ceremony with the little boy he saved, Levi Martin (they're pictured above). Here's their story:

Officer DeValkenaere was enjoying an afternoon with his children at a neighborhood swimming pool on May 28, 2010, when someone noticed a child at the bottom of the pool.

The unconscious boy was quickly pulled from the water, and Officer DeValkenaere located the boy’s pulse and determined he was not breathing. Officer DeValkenaere then used rescue breathing until the boy spit up water and began shallow breathing.

When officers responded to the scene, they found Officer DeValkenaere holding the boy so he was laying on his side and keeping the boy’s airways open. He continued to talk to the boy and encouraged him to breathe until the boy gained consciousness. The boy was taken to the hospital and discharged with no permanent injury.

Police Officer Michael Wells, who had responded to the call, said Officer DeValkenaere displayed the ability to remain calm during the crisis and perform the actions required to save the boy’s life.

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Victims from last night's homicides identified

Two men were killed last night in unrelated homicides. The first happend at about 8:43 p.m. at an apartment complex in the 11300 block of Colorado. Police had received several calls about gunshots in the area. As the officers were going to the call, they saw a white SUV speeding away from the area of the shooting call.  Believing the vehicle might be involved, they stopped the vehicle at Red Bridge Road and 71 Highway. When they contacted the driver, he told them his passenger had been shot in the apartment complex. Officers found 23-year-old Marquis D. Hughes in the vehicle, and he'd been shot. Hughes was transported to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead at about 9:17 p.m. The driver of the SUV told officers he did not see the shooting, but Hughes called him after he was shot. There were no other people in the SUV and there is no suspect information at this time.

Marquis Hughes

Then at 12:10 a.m., police were called to 12th Terrace and Freemont to investigate a shooting. Officers found 34-year-old Keith D. Williams of Kansas City, Mo., dead of an apparent gunshot wound outside a black Chevrolet Caprice. The car was on Freemont just south of 12th Terrace. The officers also located a second victim - a male in his 30's - near the intersection of 12th Terrace and Bennington, about a block from the first victim. The second male also had been shot and was transported to an area hospital for treatment. Detectives are working to find out what led up to the shooting. There are no suspects in custody.

Keith Williams

If you have any information about either of these homicides, please call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477).

Kansas City Police collect 569 pounds of drugs during prescription take-back event

This past Saturday, Kansas City Police partnered with the Drug Enforcement Administration and the City of Kansas City to conduct a prescription drug take-back event at five locations. To prevent abuse (and contanimation of the water supply), we encouraged all residents to bring all their unused prescription and over-the-counter drugs to the drop-off sites anonymously for disposal.

The event was very successful with a total of 569 pounds of drugs collected. Here's how it broke down by location:

East Patrol Division Station (5301 E. 27th St.): 16 pounds
Central Patrol Division Station (1200 E. Linwood): 53 pounds
Zona Rosa (8690 N. Dixson): 160 pounds
St. Matthew's Church (8001 Longview): 281 pounds
Swope Park (Meyer Blvd. & Swope Pkwy): 59 pounds.

That's 569 pounds of drugs that were turned over to the DEA for disposal. That's 569 pounds of drugs that will never make it to the streets and that have no potential to be misused or abused. Thanks so much to all of you who brought your old medications. You are making your community a better place.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

Officer earns medal for rescuing child, dogs from fire

On Sept. 23, we had a large award ceremony at the Police Academy to honor the bravery, leadership and ingenuity of some of KCPD's finest. I'll be posting about several of those awards in the coming days (I was, unfortunately, out of town for the ceremony itself, and Deputy Chief Cy Ritter filled in for me. But I knew all about these stories of courage, and I just had to share them with you.)

I'll start with Officer Timothy Hiner. He earned the Distinguished Service Medal - one of our department's highest honors - for his actions at the beginning of this year. Above, he and Deputy Chief Ritter salute after his medal was bestowed on him. Below is his story:

Officer Tim Hiner was working on a police report in his patrol car just after 3 a.m. January 28, 2010, when he saw car a whizzing down Northeast 45th Terrace near North Brighton. When the driver saw Officer Hiner, he frantically informed him a house was on fire nearby. Officer Hiner went to the house in the 5200 block of Northeast 45th Terrace and saw fire in the northeast corner of the home and power lines arcing above it. He asked dispatchers to send the fire department.

Then, he contacted a woman standing in the front yard. She spoke little English, but Officer Hiner heard her say that her “babies” were still inside. Officer Hiner immediately ran into the burning house. He found a small child in the back bedroom and picked him up but couldn’t find any other children. He took the child to his mother, and asked her about the other “babies” she mentioned. She was able to explain two small dogs were still in the house. So Officer Hiner went back inside again and found both dogs hiding under a large, heavy, sleigh-style bed in another bedroom. The dogs wouldn’t come out, so Officer Hiner lifted the bed himself, grabbed them and took them outside. With the family reunited, Officer Hiner asked the woman again if everyone was out of the house, and she said yes.

Officer Hiner then ushered everyone into his patrol car to get them out of the cold. Even with the language barrier, he asked what he could do to help them, and he notified the Red Cross that the family needed assistance. Once the fire was out, it was clear it was mostly contained to the kitchen area, but there was dangerous smoke damage throughout the house.

Sergeant John Failer said Officer Hiner’s quick actions prevented a tragedy, and he has the courageous and selfless qualities that are instrumental to being a good police officer.

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Police conducting roll calls out in the community

Watch this video to learn more about how our officers are conducting their roll calls outside of the police station and in your neighborhood, at your business or even at your favorite coffee place.



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Police Board to meet at 6 p.m. Sept. 28 at Watkins Cultural Heritage Center.

PRESS RELEASE:

To make the Board of Police Commissioners more accessible to the public, the Board will have its next regular monthly meeting away from Police Headquarters and in the evening.

The Board will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 28, at the Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Heritage Center, 3700 Blue Parkway. As always, the meeting is open to the public, and all residents are invited to attend. Public comments will be heard at the beginning of the meeting. The meeting also will feature CSTAR (Comprehensive Strategic Team Accountability Review) reports from the Metro Patrol Division and Narcotics and Vice Division. These reports will highlight each of these divisions’ special projects and crime hotspots.

Click to see the full meeting agenda.

Police encourage residents to bring prescription drugs to national take-back day

PRESS RELEASE:

Kansas City Police are partnering with the Drug Enforcement Administration and the City of Kansas City in a first-ever nationwide drug take-back day.

Police are encouraging residents to bring their unused prescription and over-the-counter drugs to five take-back locations that officers will be manning throughout the city from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 25. The locations are:

• Swope Park, main Building at Gateway Opening, Meyer Boulevard and Swope Parkway

• KCPD Central Patrol Division Station, 1200 E. Linwood Ave.

• The Grove in Zona Rosa (by Marshall’s), 8690 N. Dixson

• KCPD East Patrol Division Station’s north parking lot, 5301 E. 27th St.

• St. Matthew’s Church, 8001 Longview Rd.

Residents can drop off the drugs anonymously with no questions asked. The Take-Back initiative is intended to prevent increased pill abuse and theft. The D.E.A. cites studies that show a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, often from a home medicine cabinet. The 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health found more Americans abuse prescription drugs than those abusing cocaine, hallucinogens and heroin combined.

While this is the first nationwide drug take-back event, this is the third year Kansas City Police have sponsored prescription take-back events.

Not only do unused prescription drugs present the potential for abuse, disposing of these drugs down the drain or toilet can poison the city’s water supply, harming humans and wildlife. For more information, go to http://www.dea.gov/.


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Officers to conduct neighborhood roll call in Spanish today

PRESS RELEASE:

KCPD patrol officers have been conducting roll calls out in the community for the past few months, but on Thursday, they’ll do so with a twist.

At 3:30 p.m. Sept. 23, eight officers will meet at Holy Cross Parish at 5106 St. John Ave. and conduct their roll call entirely in Spanish. They want to meet with residents of the area, learn about their concerns and build relationships with the community. The officers also will tell residents about what initiatives they’re taking in the neighborhood and share crime prevention tips.

“This will be happening right about when Holy Cross Catholic School gets out, so we hope to connect with a lot of people,” Sergeant Derek Rothert said.

Some of the officers are native Spanish speakers, and others are graduates of the Department’s Spanish Immersion Program, which puts officers through an intensive 10-week course equivalent to four semesters of college Spanish instruction. The top students in the class then spend another five weeks in Mexico taking two more semesters of Spanish coursework. So far, 77 KCPD members have graduated from the course and are more able to communicate with the city’s growing Hispanic community.

Kansas City Police instituted community roll calls this year to get officers more in touch with the residents they serve. Hundreds of officers have now prepared for their shifts by meeting on front porches, at coffee shops, in apartment complexes and parking lots to get to know their communities. They’re gathering important information to fight crime and sharing the best ways they know of to avoid becoming a victim. The Westside CAN Center at 2130 Jefferson St. also will host a community roll call (in English) with police at 8 a.m. Thursday.

If you’d like police to have a community roll call at your home or business, call the community interaction officer in your patrol division or the main KCPD number at 816-234-5000 and say you’d like to speak with the community interaction officer in your area.


Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org

Police seek missing woman with Alzheimer's

UPDATE, 1:20 p.m.: Police have located Bertha Washington in Kansas City, Mo., and she appears to be in good health. Thanks for your help.

Kansas City Police are looking for 77-year-old Bertha L. Washington, who was last seen at 6:30 p.m. yesterday, Sept. 21. She left the 4100 block of Agnes on foot and hasn't been seen or heard from since. Ms. Washington suffers from Alzheimer's disease and may appeared confused. Her family is worried about her. She is a black female who is 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighs about 170 pounds. She has black hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a blue shirt, black pants and black shoes. If you know where she is, please call the KCPD Missing Persons Setion at 816-234-5136.