City Hall was mourning the death of police Capt. Robert D. Melton today.
In a moving event this morning at Kansas City, Kan., City Hall, more than 30 members of the clergy here turned out in support of the Police Department, the officer’s family, local government officials and the community.
Two young adults were taken into custody following the shooting death of Capt. Melton, Police Chief Terry Zeigler said today. They were in the 18-to-20 age range. Their names were not released, and charges have not yet been filed, according to District Attorney Jerome Gorman. The case is still being investigated, and charges are expected to be filed later.
A candlelight vigil will be held at 8 p.m. tonight in front of City Hall, 701 N. 7th St., Kansas City, Kan.
Three Unified Government commissioners in the audience attending the news conference, Commissioners Angela Markley, Mike Kane and Melissa Bynum, were in tears as they remembered Capt. Melton.
The death of Capt. Melton was not a planned ambush against police such as has happened in other cities, Mayor Mark Holland said. Instead, it was an example of a known criminal trying to escape arrest, he said.
Police Chief Terry Zeigler said Capt. Melton, 46, had a family including three children. He is remembered as someone whose philosophy was to “lead from the front,” Zeigler said. ”He was an excellent example of the men and women who work for the department.”
He described Capt. Melton as a professional with an “awesome personality,” a big personality, gregarious, and liked to joke a lot. “Hard exterior, but soft on the inside, well respected throughout our organization and the community.”
He had served in Afghanistan from 2010 to 2012, and Iraq from 2006 to 2007, and received the Bronze Star.
He was a 2015 graduate of Mid-America Nazarene University, and he also was an alumnus of Kansas City Kansas Community College. Additionally, he graduated from Fairfield High School in Langdon, Kan., in 1988.
Capt. Melton worked for the Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Department before joining the Police Department. He was a 17-year veteran of the Police Department.
Mayor Holland said the community is still reeling from the death of Detective Brad Lancaster two months ago. He added Detective Lancaster’s death brought home the “very real dangers of police work in our community and in our nation.”
Local officials had hoped that this would be the only officer death they would see in this generation, he said.
“His death tells us that tragedy and evil are always possible in this line of work,” Mayor Holland said.
In the two months since Detective Brad Lancaster’s death in Kansas City, Kan. the nation has seen several violent events, he said.
“Yet we all need to worry that the national climate may foster greater fear and potentially inflame otherwise normal interactions into tragedies,” Mayor Holland said. “This fear sometimes feels bigger than all of us. And yet, I believe Kansas City, Kan., will faithfully rise above this fear.”
Kansas City, Kan., “has come a long way in the last 20 years in large part because of the community relationships we have built between our neighborhood groups and our police,” Mayor Holland said. “Because of this cooperation we have a near 40-year low in violent crime. But we are reminded again yesterday afternoon at 2:55, when Capt. Melton lost his life, that we have not come far enough.”
He said the community would continue moving forward in building community relationships that reduce crime and violence to protect both community and police.
“Two criminals in two months will not undo 20 years of successful partnership between our police and our community,” Mayor Holland said.
UG Commissioner Harold Johnson offered prayers for the captain’s family, the Police Department and for the community “to stand united and victorious in spite of every evil thought and scheme.”
The incident Tuesday started with a report of a drive-by shooting.
Chief Zeigler said at 1:33 p.m. July 19, police received a call about a burgundy Grand Prix in the area of 2nd and Edgerton, shooting, and the caller believed there were three to four persons in the car. An officer on patrol saw a burgundy vehicle going the wrong way at 15th and Haskell, he said. The officer went after the vehicle to stop it for a traffic violation, he said.
The pursuit started, but then the pursuit was stopped because it was for traffic, he said. Later, officers on patrol located the vehicle near 15th and Rowland, he said. The suspects bailed out of the vehicle and took off on foot, he said. The driver was taken into custody immediately, he added.
Capt. Melton was out on patrol in the area of 27th and Georgia and went to assist, Chief Zeigler said. He and another officer in the vehicle spotted the suspect at 22nd and Georgia about 1:58 p.m., he said. Capt. Melton went to the location, cutting off the suspect’s vehicle and boxing it in with his vehicle, he said.
“The suspect produced a handgun and fired several shots into the passenger side of Capt. Melton’s patrol car, through the window which was halfway down,” Chief Zeigler said. Capt. Melton was trying to leave his patrol car to engage the suspect, he added. He was shot several times and officers began rendering emergency aid. He later died at the University of Kansas Hospital.
At this time, police believe they have everyone in custody that was involved in the shooting, and anyone with information is asked to call the TIPS hotline at 816-477-TIPS, he said. The investigation is ongoing, he said.
He thanked the community for the outpouring of support and thanked other public safety agencies for assistance.
This shooting does not fit the national pattern of planned attacks against police officers, he said.
“But it does fit the narrative when it comes to the fact that words matter,” Chief Zeigler said. “The hate and anti police speech has got to stop, because the consequences are real. Our blue line just got a little thinner yesterday with the loss of Capt. Melton.”
Officers of the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department will continue to fight for the safety of the community and will not apologize for confronting people and removing them from the community, he said.
He said because of a good relationship with the community, the overall crime rate in the community has been reduced over the last 20 years.
He also said the department will take a look at its training concerning how vehicles are approached.
The Rev. Jimmie Banks, pastor of Strangers Rest Baptist Church, and a member of the Baptist Ministers Union, read an open letter from the clergy of Wyandotte County.
There will be a Community Day of Prayer on Sunday, July 24, for all church communities in Wyandotte County, he said. Clergy also are committing to engage residents in a series of public conversations around these issues, he said.
“We cannot let the tragedy and evil lead us down a dark path of suspicion and distrust,” he said. “We call on everyone to lift up our law enforcement officers in our thoughts and prayers.”
Monsignor Stuart Swetland, president of Donnelly College, offered a prayer for those present to be instruments of peace and justice.
Commissioner Angela Markley said the commissioners never thought they would face these deaths in their terms, let alone twice in three months.
“It’s double the heartbreak, for sure,” she said.
Commissioner Mike Kane said he has known Capt. Melton’s family since 1978, and the captain’s brother was his boss on a former job for 20 years. Kane said he stopped by his brother’s house last night and visited.
“You talk about a good guy, he was a good one. Everybody looked up to him,” he said with tears in his eyes. “We’re struggling.”
Also mourning the loss was Commissioner Melissa Bynum. She noted that it was only a week or so ago that Chief Zeigler came to the commission with a request for body cameras. The commission received the request very favorably at that time, with a lot of support, and it is under consideration. (Body cameras had been discussed last year and not funded because of the high cost, at the time.)
Richard Mabion, the president of the Kansas City, Kan., NAACP, said he was in solidarity with Chief Zeigler and the Police Department.
“The chief says all the time that the solutions to our problems come from the community, and I agree with that 100 percent. I think it’s really important for us to be seen standing in solidarity,” he said.
Wyandotte County Sheriff Don Ash said he found this event profoundly sad, a tragic loss. “He was a great guy, a dedicated professional, and it’s a tremendous loss,” he said.
U.S. Marshal Ron Miller said the U.S. Marshals Service is working with the Police Department on a task force and its deputies were assisting the Police Department.
“There are no words to adequately express” his feelings, he said. “It’s a tough time to be in law enforcement and go to work every day knowing that risk exists.”
