University of Missouri-Kansas City students will gather outside of the campus police station on Tuesday at noon to “Say No to Daniel Graves” in a protest organized by the school’s chapter of the Young Democratic Socialists of America.
UMKC named Graves, a former Kansas City police officer, its new campus chief of police last month. His wife, Stacey Graves, is chief of the Kansas City Police Department.
In a news release about his hiring, UMKC called Graves "an experienced law enforcement leader” who would support a team “that promotes a culture of integrity and community-focused policing.”
In 2021, Graves wrote a letter advocating for Eric DeValkaenare, the former Kansas City detective convicted of killing 26-year-old Cameron Lamb in 2019. Then-Gov. Mike Parson commuted DeValkenaere’s sentence in 2024.
In his 2021 letter, Graves said DeValkaenare’s arrest was politically motivated and requested that he remain out of jail pending his appeal.
Samuel Lamar is vice chair of the UMKC Young Democratic Socialists of America. He says many students were disappointed by the decision and felt like they had no say.
“Any kind of attempt to bring this up is shot down, or you’re put into a cycle of you need to talk to this person, you need to talk to this person,” Lamar said. “And then it goes nowhere until you get tired of it and just give up.”
UMKC said in a statement that it conducted a national search for the police chief position, thoroughly vetting applicants.
“We are confident that Chief Graves has the skills and experience to succeed in that role,” the statement continued. “As always, we support students’ rights to express their views in accordance with campus policies.”
Lamar says his organization decided to organize the rally to give students a chance to be heard by administrators.
“We want to be taken seriously. We want them to know we don’t feel safe on this campus, and they need to do something about it,” Lamar said.
Lamar says the organization hopes that the rally can push Graves to step down from the position or the school to reverse the hiring decision.
The students’ objection to Graves builds on simmering frustration about the university’s immigration enforcement protocol for students and staff.
The UMKC Young Democratic Socialists of America, along with the student organization Roos Against Ice, will host more rallies through the end of the semester to protest what they describe as a lack of guidance on what students and faculty members should do if immigration enforcement comes on campus.
