police

A lawsuit filed Thursday in Jackson County Circuit Court says two Independence police officers acted with malice and were reckless when they killed Maria Pike, 34 and her two-month-old baby Destinii Hope.

The Board of Commissioners of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas voted to allow property taxes to increase next year. But the county's financial issues remain and commissioners agreed there is waste to cut from the budget.

Lenexa Police officers fatally shot 25-year-old Grandview resident Jose Enrique Cartagena Chacon on June 22, after responding to a 911 call at an apartment complex. His friends and family members have demanded to see officer body cam footage.

The department in Clay County is short 14 officers. The city council just raised pay for officers and added incentives to recruit from other departments, as other law enforcement agencies grapple with similar staffing concerns.

Gov. Mike Kehoe appointed five people to a state board that would manage the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. But some St. Louis lawmakers criticized the governor for primarily choosing white men.

The drones head out before human first responders to scope out the scene. Lenexa Police say it's cut response times by two minutes in emergency situations, and the city just approved funding to buy more.

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.

The report from Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey didn't include a "disparity index" showing whether police stopped drivers in minority groups more frequently than white drivers.

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.

A state law prevents companies like Evergy from being sued if police place cameras on the utility poles they own. Some Kansas lawmakers worry that expands police powers too much.

Senate Bill 71 expands the death benefit for officers killed in the line of duty to $100,000.

Daniel Paulino is accused of stealing more than $300,000 from Velda City, a municipality of about 1,200 people in north St. Louis county.