More2, a group that marched on Wednesday evening in downtown Kansas City, Kansas, is calling for an outside investigation of the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department, the firing of the police chief and an independent hotline to report police misbehavior.
According to Marcus Winn, Kansas organizer for the Metro Organization for Racial and Economic Equity, More2, the group was disturbed when reports surfaced of a female cadet who was fired after a reported sexual assault from her supervisor.
“We were also in contact with multiple women who over time told similar stories independent of one another,” Winn said.
More2 made several demands of Mayor David Alvey, Winn said. The first was to terminate the police chief, he said. The second was for outside investigations of police officers who are accused of conduct including sexual assault.
The third is to fund and create and independent bilingual hotline so victims would have an avenue for reporting misbehavior that does not go through the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department, he said. The victims do not feel safe and do not trust anything associated with the police department, he added.
“We’re hopeful despite all the terrible stories we were told, and hope Mayor Alvey will do the right thing,” Winn said. “We’re also hopeful that forums like the ones we are demanding would be good for everyone, including police. It would increase safety for everyone, including law enforcement officers.”
The police department issued a response on Wednesday:
The police department’s statement:
“The Kansas City, Kansas Police Department has already made statements regarding the lawsuits filed against the Department and will not be making any further comments on those issues as they will be addressed through litigation.
“The Police Department has a hotline (913.573.6373) where citizens can call to report any type of police misconduct. The Department welcomes complaints from all citizens and encourages anyone with any issue to call either the hotline or the Internal Affairs Office (913.573.6370) to report police officer misconduct. The Police Department is accredited through CALEA (The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies), which includes the processes and procedures governing how Internal Affairs operates.
“The Department will cooperate with any outside investigation as we are confident we meet or exceed currently accepted practices/standards in law enforcement regarding how we handle citizen complaints through the Internal Affairs process.
“If members of the More2 organization has information about current police misconduct by a member of the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department they are encouraged to provide the information to Internal Affairs or any other organization who has jurisdiction so it can be thoroughly investigated and the proper corrective action taken.”