Kansas City Missouri Police

The Kansas City Police Department pays out settlements for crashes for which it takes responsibility. A 10-month KCUR investigation uncovered how often Kansas City police wreck their vehicles — and the cost to taxpayers.

After yet another violent weekend, city leaders and community activists gathered at 35th Street and Prospect Avenue at the behest of neighbors who say they are sick of the constant crime. Mayor Quinton Lucas said he will close businesses that don’t comply with anti-violence efforts.

The lawsuit filed on behalf of two longtime police reform advocates says the takeover violates a ban on special laws and amounts to an unfunded mandate. Multiple lawsuits have previously challenged Missouri's control of Kansas City Police.

During a public budget hearing, Kansas City Police budget officials told city council that $3.5 million would be enough to cover legal expenses. Two months later, the board announced $18.1 million in lawsuit settlements — a surprise to city officials, who don't have any control over the department.

Prosecutor Melesa Johnson’s office is supporting a state bill that would add animal control officers to the list of those who must report any suspected child or elder abuse. Animal abuse is seen as a “predictor crime” for potential violence toward people.

A surveillance video of Brady being shot point-blank in the parking lot of his Brookside restaurant last year was shown at a juvenile court hearing Tuesday. Brady’s family was watching via webcam from Ireland, and his wife sat in the last row of the courtroom.

So far this year, Kansas City has recorded 12 homicides related to domestic violence – which was the total attributed to the problem last year. There wasn’t a single contributing factor, but Mayor Quinton Lucas cited the large number of guns in the city.

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department will no longer be under the control of the mayor’s office and instead will be overseen by a governor-appointed board. It's similar to the Confederate-era system that manages Kansas City Police.

Placing the St. Louis Police Department under a state-appointed board has been a priority for Gov. Mike Kehoe. The Republican governor said that removing local control will improve safety, despite the evidence in Kansas City, whose police is already under a similar system.

The legislation would take away control of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department from the mayor’s office to a board mainly appointed by the governor. It's a structure similar to the Civil War-era system that manages the Kansas City Police Department.

Sharon Kinne, who fled Kansas City in 1964 after being acquitted of two murders, was the subject of one of the longest outstanding murder warrants in the area. She was convicted of another murder in Mexico in 1964, escaped from prison in 1969 and died in 2022 in Canada.

Melesa Johnson, 35, will be sworn in as Jackson County's prosecutor on Friday. She says she will keep some of Baker's policies, tweak others and offer her own.