Wyandotte County District Attorney Mark Dupree announced today that his office would begin a community integrity unit to investigate instances of excessive force and misconduct by police and law enforcement officers.
It would be an expansion of the district attorney’s conviction integrity unit. That unit currently looks into wrongful convictions.
Dupree said that he would request three funded officer positions to investigate complaints about the police. The Unified Government Commission has been looking at the amended 2020 and proposed 2021 budget, and at 5 p.m. Thursday, June 11, is scheduled to set a maximum mill levy and discuss whether to add funding for fire station 15 in the Fairfax industrial district.
In recent days, the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis has caused many to reevaluate the criminal justice system, Dupree said.
While some do not believe that inequities exist here and in the nation, that is not true, he said.
He said when he took office in 2016, he was greeted with many things, including the tradition of placing a noose on the desk of a prosecuting attorney with a hung jury. He said it was a symbol of hate and systematic terrorism against African-Americans, and it was offensive to many people.
That was a tradition that immediately ceased, he said, and he has addressed fundamental flaws in the district attorney’s office since then.
“It is not enough to say we want change,” Dupree said. “We must move from anger to action.”
He has instituted training programs, and with the help of a nonprofit organization they are performing a review of their charging decisions during the last several years to make sure they are not biased when making the decisions, he said.
He also said he would like the criminal justice system to accept the facts that the system is disproportionately filled with the poor, persons of color and persons with mental health problems who cannot afford treatment.
Dupree said that his office, when it established the conviction integrity unit, had to fight for it because the system did not want to change.
He said there were those who met the fight for transparency and integrity with “blunt force.” He added that blunt force came from the Fraternal Order of Police in Kansas City, Kansas, and some law enforcement officials here.
Dupree said some members of the Police Department were telling other police officers not to cooperate with the district attorney or investigations. That has slowed the conviction integrity unit somewhat, he said. He said he was encouraging all law enforcement agencies to work together with his office and this effort.
Dupree said the conviction integrity unit has reviewed more than 60 cases. For some cases, there was no credibility found, and others were found to have substance, he said.
When he became district attorney, a new procedure was started to have an outside police agency come in to jointly investigate any officer-involved shootings.
Dupree said the new community integrity unit would be an independent arm of the district attorney’s office, with a hotline in English and Spanish, and an email to report any instances of the use of excessive force by police. The new community integrity unit would investigate the complaints, he said. He is requesting funding for three certified law enforcement officers to serve as investigators in the district attorney’s office.
He said many communities, including San Francisco, have similar units.
Currently, the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department has an internal affairs unit that looks into citizen complaints about the police.
Dupree said that current local government contracts with the police union prevent the complaints received by the Police Department from being known to his office.
Dupree said he plans to meet with the police and sheriff’s office to discuss the community integrity unit, and he plans to speak with the mayor and commission about it.
“If we are to have a fair and just system that works the same for black, brown and white folks, we must have real reform, not just sentimental emotions,” Dupree said.
To view an earlier story, “District attorney issues open letter in McIntyre case,” visit
https://wyandotteonline.com/district-attorney-issues-open-letter-in-mcintyre-case/
Another older story, “District attorney responds on conviction integrity unit issue,” from 2018, is online at
https://wyandotteonline.com/district-attorney-responds-on-conviction-integrity-unit-issue/