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Two Years After Overland Park Police Killed Her Teenage Son, Sheila Albers Is Still Demanding Reform

Andrea Tudhope
/
KCUR 89.3
More than two years after her 17-year-old son was shot and killed by a police officer outside of the family's Overland Park home, Sheila Albers' fight for change is far from over.

John Albers was 17 and struggling with mental health issues when an Overland Park police officer shot him to death in 2018.

Today, his mother continues to fight for what she says could have kept him alive — transparency and better training for first responders. Last week, Overland Park decided to fund crisis intervention training for all 258 of its officers. Albers considers it a win, but says there's still more to be done. "Tragedies do happen, but it's our reaction to those tragedies that really show our character in positions of leadership," she says.

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