TKC BREAKING AND EXCLUSIVE NEWS!!! CALLING OUT LACK OF POLICE SUPPORT AMONG KANSAS CITY POLITICAL ELITE AMID KCPD "BRAIN DRAIN" CONTROVERSY!!!
Uunreported by most mainstream media, The Kansas City Police Department is enduring a great many departures of veterans and a number of talented people.
It's important to realize . . .
A GREAT MANY VETERANS ALONG WITH RANK AND FILE OFFICERS ARE LEAVING THE KCPD AT AN INCREASING RATE WHICH HAS BEEN ATTRIBUTED TO A RAPID TRANSFORMATION OF THE INSTITUTION!!!
While there has always been turnover . . . The uptick in departures has raised a few eyebrows and also encouraged a bit of speculation.
This week, a well respected KCPD commander retired.
That's Deputy Chief Kevin Masters with Retired KCPD Chief Richard Easley.
Thanks to the AWESOME TKC TIPSTERS for sending us this image from the Deputy Chief Kevin Masters Retirement Ceremony.
However . . . Here's a comment that's worth mentioning from a Kansas City Insider who had a bit of criticism at this otherwise happy event which celebrated 27 years of service to the KCPD.
"No one showed up. No sign of (KCPD Chief) Forté , no Mayor, no top brass, only two police commissioners, not even Alvin Brooks could be bothered to make the trip. One council member went. 30-35 people at most. Pathetic turnout from so-called "community leaders" and elected officials who claim to support law enforcement."
To be fair, the KCPD Chief sent his best wishes via blog post.
Retired Deputy Chief Masters is now working with Kansas City Public Schools and we wish him the best in his new endeavor.
Meanwhile the prospect of local control looms over the KCPD as the vital Kansas City organization can only look forward to more changes in the future.
DEVELOPING . . .
There were about 50 there, not bad for a retirement party that ways way out North at the academy.
ReplyDeleteToo far for me, but wish I had made the effort.
ReplyDeleteThere is a mandatory retirement for KCPD officers, what is the age now? Thought it was changed recently. I know Corwin got special approval to stay beyond his maxed years.
mandatory retirement is at 30 yrs for those that can take the "im watching you so I can find a way to fire or demote you" attitude.
ReplyDeleteNo wonder the moral is low and everyone is looking to get out
Retirement is actually 32 yrs now.
ReplyDeleteBut Tony, the Mayor YOU supported has better things to do than pay attention to the police. He has good scotch to drink and twitter to play with, that's the kind of leader kc needs now, right?
ReplyDeleteMaybe older professional police don't want to work with these ex Iraq soldier punks with their shaved heads!
ReplyDeleteQuite a few folks approaching their vested year of 15 (which is quite a few Officers in the next 1 to 2 years) are planning on vacating and seeking employment else where!
ReplyDeleteNo 11:10, you are incorrect! No body wants to work with a bunch a racists who are out for themselves and protecting their own! Just ask Hundley and his posse. They have their own agenda.
ReplyDelete"To be fair" I call bullshit. Forte hasn't shown up at a single retirement to honor anyone for thier service. Putting on your blog and not showing up is the same as saying "fuck you, I'm too important to come thank you for your service." Forte is a weasley fuck who doesn't give two shits about anyone but Forte.
ReplyDeleteWTF? Some guy retired. This ain't like Jesus walking on water already!
ReplyDeleteWhen the KCPD spends more time catching criminals than they do raising revenue for the city is the day I will care. Until that day its all a waste of time.
ReplyDeleteNew blood and fresh views and approaches brings good things to an organization. KCPD needed that. However, there is a limit to the amount of turnover an organization can accommodate and still get business done. It sounds like KCPD is approaching the limit of this accommodation.
ReplyDeleteChange, when it finally comes, can be painful to many in the organization, and to the customers/clients. But it has to happen. Then the organization recovers.
The good old days of status quo needed to end. Sounds like they are ending.
1:14 pm who are you? Stuart Smalley..
ReplyDeleteWhat a bunch of nonsense. The change you are talking about has done not one ukin thing about the burgeoning crime and killings.
Go back to your room and relate to yurself sum more.
Yeah things are about to change and you're going to suffer for it. The city is gonna screw it's citizens even more so get ready cause they ain't even gonna grease up when they bend you over. Lokk at the poor way they run everything else.
ReplyDelete1:14 actually sounds like a resonable comment. That's rare on TKC. LOL!
ReplyDeleteJohnny Joe wanted his boys in ....relax.
ReplyDeleteShame that there is so much discord in the PD. They are making progress.
ReplyDeleteProgress will be made when Forte resigns in disgrace and issues a public apology for all the damage he has done. He represents the problem not the solution. The dept is circling the drain. It is not on its way up. You're lying to yourself if you think otherwise.
ReplyDelete@3:33 must be media relations. The dept. is a mess and everybody knows it.
ReplyDeleteMidtown single mom for life...please getta clue and pour yourself a big cup of STFU.
ReplyDeletewhats "STFU". I'm an old man!
ReplyDeleteOld man ...this is not the place for you. So long nice knowing ya.
ReplyDeleteIm all for change, but there is more than one type of change. If it were good change, then im all for it. Unfortunately Forte and the higher ranks are making horrible changes. A weaker, undermanned police department and rising violent crimes arent signs of good change.
ReplyDeleteThe problem with the status quo comment is the bottom is leaving and not the top. The fat cats at the top don't want or care about the little people.
ReplyDeleteThe fat cats couldn't do the job of Patrol nowadayz. I've even had a Major say those exact words! These folks wouldn't have a clue or the balls to deal with 90% of the folk in the inner city and parts in between. So stay behind the desk "Fat Cats" (Captains and above), take your 2 and 3 hour lunch breaks, violate personnel polices and go about your days as usual. That's why nothing changes!!!!! It's sad that there are some really good commanders, but have no balls to voice their opinions. Hell, I bet 3/4 don't agree with Pimp Fotae' .
ReplyDeleteLol. Love it.
DeleteDo you really think the young guys are so taxed now? During the crack wars we were handling 30 calls a night, but only in 8 hours. The murder rate was over 130 for over a decade and drive-by's were twice what they are now. We processed most every scene by ourselves, because CSI was always on a homicide.
ReplyDeleteYes, we didn't have to deal with all the bull shit technology you do, but we NEVER rode two-person crews. We did everything by ourselves.
Be careful to put all of us in the same basket!!!
blah, blah, blah & blah @ 9:05. I think 7:29 is right on. Check out the commander profiles within the KCPD, you know the one that shows nice, smiley photos. Read through each and every one of them. Between 95 to 98% of them never stayed in the field for any length of time. A large majority fled the field after 2-3 years or became promoted. So 9:05, I take it you are a commander, and my quess is you fall into the category I just listed. This department (KCPD) needs tenured people in the field. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but there are those few who love putting on the uniform day in and day out to try to make a difference. Although, truthfully, it's not even worth trying anymore because no one in our upper command has the balls to tell the community folks to "stick it", especially when a "white" officer is just doing his job and is called a racist. We are the POLICE, not a touchy feely "let me know what I can do to kiss your ass Mr. John Q Public". I'll bet a large majority of inner city folks want us to take back their streets for them to make them safer. Well, to do that you have to "kick ass and take names".. You did that in the 1980's correct, old wise one? You and the command staff need to make the right changes. Start backing your troops!
ReplyDeleteSomeone needs to introduce the police chief to Detective Gillette, Officer Barbasol, and Sgt. Neutrogena. He's apparently met none of them.
ReplyDeleteHe leads by example. Don't shave don't work that is don't take anyone to jail and get paid the same. What a worthless department of misfits Chief Forte has created.
ReplyDeleteI was there in the 80s and we never dealt with anything like what young officers do now. Yes, it was busier back then, homicides were far higher and crack was off the hook, but we all enjoyed the action and the chance to make a difference. It was real police work and none of us would've traded it to work in the burbs. We had real leaders back then too...Kelly, Hudson, Staffer, Fletcher. They really cared about the troops and their enthusiasm was infectious. Do you older guys even remember what morale was like in the Pre-Bishop Era? We didn't have to worry about cameras recording us using bad language in private to another officer with no members of the public around, and then getting jammed up over it. In short, we have been led by a long list of cowards over the years since that time and the rank and file have increasingly seen themselves as a separate entity from the commanders. It did not used to be that way and for that reason alone, we had it better.
ReplyDeleteback to the city control, why not right,? I mean look at how well the kansas city schools are! What a joke, that's what is happening to the police department with these jokers running things. so busy thinking about themselves and their buddies. I'm sure it was as political "back in the day" but at least patrol got to do real police work.
ReplyDeleteDoes Forte not shave cause he has psued fuklickUlitis.
ReplyDeleteGood luck getting that ship-wreck back at sea.
ReplyDelete9:05,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your service. But just an FYI, even if you perceive the 80's to have been busier back then than it is today, there's no way--repeat--NO WAY you'd be able to run 30 calls a night back then if you had the amount of administrative work forced upon you back then that officers are forced to deal with these days. Lethality assessment screens, REJIS, electronic ticketing, logging into 5 different systems/cameras before you even leave the parking lot, double booking prisoners, etc, etc. I could go on and on. Just try to understand these kids are forced to do patrol work a heck of a lot different than you were able to back in the day. The days of grabbing your keys and walkie and heading out the door to do work are long gone.
Easley and masters, birds of a feather. Don't like either one of them.
ReplyDeleteAs far as I know forte doesn't attend retirement ceremonies. Tells me a lot about what he thinks about the long time service that members of HIS department have provided to the citizens of Kansas city. I'm not an expert on leadership principles but I'm wondering, what does it mean when the CEO of an organization of only 1400 or so people fails to recognize the service of members by not showing up and thanking them for their service, especially the service of his executive or command staff? If he doesn't want to do the duties of the chief of police then maybe he needs to find some other position more to his liking such as community activist.
ReplyDelete