Jackson County Sheriff Forté Escalates Beef With Legislator Abarca

Finally, we know that summer is in full swing when there's political drama at the courthouse. 

As always, we do our best to help unpack Jackson County political slap fighting and then pass it back to readers so everybody can enjoy the hot mess.

More than anything, this situation deserves context . . . 

As we noted previously . . .

There's a very good chance that Jackson County Sheriff Forté will be the fall guy for the disastrous new jail that's already overcrowded and starting to look EVEN WORSE than hell hole it replaced.

Behind the scenes we've heard that Missouri politicos have taken notice, there have been BIG budget questions, concerns about liability and . . . TKC is reporting this FIRST . . . It's not entirely impossible that Jackson County's jail could end up in Missouri receivership sooner that local hacks can imagine. That nuclear option is literally just about 8 votes away from reality in Jeff City where KCMO politicos have very little sway. 

 Meanwhile . . . 

Legislative Chair Manny Abarca, no stranger to starting political fights with just about EVERYBODY in Kansas City, seems to be pressing the jail issue in his campaign for Exec. 

And that brings us to a clever social media post by the Jackson County Sheriff last night . . . Here's the stated aim and a quote from a top ranking ELECTED law enforcement official at the Courthouse . . . 

"Recent public discussion surrounding Jackson County Legislator Abarca has generated questions about the status of his criminal cases and speculation regarding the involvement of the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO). As misinformation continues to circulate, it is important to distinguish verified facts from rumor."

For the record . . . 

The note from the Sheriff is professional, factual and emphasizes that Legislative Abarca is innocent until proven guilty. 

However . . . 

Let's not forget that the Sheriff is also an elected official with a well-documented reputation for REFUSING any criticism and treating tough questions as personal attacks. Most local journalists have been shut down when they pressed the former KCPD Chief & current Sheriff about his decisions. 

And for voters who think that we might be reading too much into the situation . . . After some of our posts on the topic, notice that even Kansas City Star columnists picked up on the feud and encouraged more conversations about jail accountability. 

But TKC isn't about making judgements . . . As always, we let readers decide . . . And we're mostly here for the lulz . . . For instance . . . 

It's not lost on us that the post from the Sheriff looks A LOT like a mugshot . . . 

But again . . .

In fairness, again, the Sheriff is an elected official and it's his right to engage in political beef.  

We only note the flex because it's part of the Sheriff's public social media feed that's also filled with a great deal of motivational quotes and inspiration for readers to rise above hateration.

As always, we serve only to document local political drama, provide some context and let readers decide for themselves. 

And here's the main question . . . 

HOW DO YOU THINK THE DRAMA BETWIXT THE SHERIFF VS. MANNY ABARCA MIGHT PLAY OUT?!?

We're honestly curious about other opinions here given that TKC has led Jackson County coverage for nearly a decade without anybody noticing of giving us credit . . . And we're always want to know what the plebs think before the newspaper gets around to cleaning up this story.  

Read more from the Sheriff via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

Jackson County Sheriff Forté -- Setting the Record Straight: Clarifying the Facts Regarding Legislator Manny Abarca’s Pending Criminal Cases

Developing . . .