This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
Diana Knapp, Jackson County corrections chief, resigned Monday, leaving just weeks before the county is set to open the $317 million new detention facility.
Captain Rhonda Montgomery, a sheriff's public information officer, confirmed that Knapp tendered her resignation Sunday and it was announced Monday. Knapp did not give a reason why.
"She just resigned, that's all I can tell you," Montgomery said.
In a press release, Sheriff Darryl Forte said Deputy Director Delores Wells and Deputy Director Michael Cunningham have been appointed as temporary directors of the jail and an interim director can be named. A new director will ultimately be hired, Forte said.
“While this transition may create some uncertainty, we remain focused on continuing to maintain the highest level of professionalism while focusing on the safety, security, and wellness of our inmates and staff," Forte said.
Just two weeks ago, Jackson County Executive Phil LeVota dedicated his “Fridays with Phil” video to handing a large ceremonial key to the new detention center to Knapp.
“People are going to remember this for the rest of their careers,” Knapp said to a beaming LeVota. “This is a huge deal. We’re really excited.”
Knapp is leaving just as inmates will be transferred in to the new facility and operations will begin in earnest. Kansas City is expecting more inmates during the World Cup, and the Kansas City Council last October approved spending $22 million on a temporary municipal jail.
Last April, Kansas City voters OK'd a public safety sales tax that will mostly be spent on funding the county detention facility.
A 2022 Kansas City Municipal Court study said the city needed a facility to hold nonviolent offenders who are accused of smaller, municipal offenses and who usually are held from one day to 53 days if convicted. Men held in the county detention center are often charged with violent crimes and felonies and are housed there for an average of 226 days, the study said.
Building the two jails occurred, in part, because the city and county couldn't agree on a single facility.
