KC police chief reacts to report from prosecutor’s office, calling for officer’s firing

Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said Tuesday she was still in the process of reviewing a report released by an advisory board for the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office that called for the firing of an officer who killed three people and faces other excessive force allegations.

The report released by Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker Friday in the waning days of her time in office was crafted based on the work of prosecutor’s office staff and a community advisory board that examined the killing of 47-year-old Donnie Sanders and other police shootings in recent years.

The report called for the department to fire Blayne Newton, who fatally shot Sanders in 2020, “to ensure that this officer no longer poses a risk to public safety,” and also made a handful of other policy and training recommendations for police and prosecutors.

Newton was not charged in the shooting.

Among those recommendations were limiting pretextual stops, discouraging officers from foot pursuits and establishing a liaison officer to assist families of people killed by officers.

At a year-end press conference Tuesday, Graves said she had not yet read the 55-page report and said she wanted to spend some time giving “thoughtful reflection” to it. She said she was made aware of the report in mid-December, and at one point was sent a couple of points to review, but said she did not have a role in its writing.

‘False narratives’

When asked about a lengthy section of the report critical of “false narratives” it said had been pushed by police, Graves said she would have to review the report, but said it was “dangerous to say that officers are involved in false narratives.”

“I think a broad statement of saying that officers provide false narratives is concerning,” she said. “I think that’s concerning to say that about the men and women that dedicate their lives and their service to the people of Kansas City. I work amongst them and they are dedicated to the betterment and safety of Kansas City.”

The report pointed to the 2013 shooting of Ryan Stokes and the 2019 killing of Cameron Lamb by officers in the department, and the false narratives the report said police pushed in the wake of those shootings.

“A renewed focus should be placed on maintaining an independent and neutral investigative team and identifying ways to enhance that process,” the report said. “It can be appropriate to provide an early briefing to the public of the officer-involved shooting in consultation with the prosecutor — similar to how these partners would manage a mass shooting in their communities. Only trusted and vetted information can go out and concern must be clearly and equally shared for both the officer and the victim of the shooting.”

Prosecutor-elect Melesa Johnson told reporters she found “immense value” in the work of community advisory boards, and said she planned to continue to employ one as she takes office.

“I am fully committed to keeping that entity and relying on them to evaluate different instances and things in our community as a form of checks and balances for my administration,” she said. “I would like to see more direct engagement with the departments in question and make sure that we are having those conversations directly about proposed changes that could be made to different policies and training protocols.”

The Star’s Robert Cronkleton contributed reporting to this story.