Issues with the Kansas City Police Department and the People It Serves

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Jaws of Justice Radio

It is the intention of Jaws of Justice Radio to investigate how to achieve justice in America, this includes issues of economic injustice, political injustice and the criminal justice system. We want to put a human face on those caught in the grasp of injustice and those that are part of an unjust system. We strive to dispel the misconceptions created by the news and entertainment industry, politicians and our educational system.

Kansas City Missouri Mayor Quinton Lucas and eight city council members voted to reallocate about $42 million of the Kansas City Police Department’s budget to a new fund that would emphasize social services such as community engagement and mental health programs. The department’s budget was about $238 million in the last fiscal year. Subsequently, the state-controlled board that oversees Kansas City’s police department voted to initiate legal action over the city leaders’ decision to change how some of the department’s budget gets spent.

Under state law, only The Board of Police Commissioners is responsible for providing police service to the residents of Kansas City, MO. Other than the mayor, board members are appointed by the Missouri governor. This arrangement began in 1939. The state’s control of the city’s police department has caused tension for years.

Opponents contend the budget change is “defunding” the police department. Lucas counters that the budget will actually increase because $3 million has been added for new police recruiting class.

Proponents of the budget change feel it is smart because it is not defunding the police department. Rather, it raises the level of accountability to the citizens that pay taxes for the police department to operate.

Host Margot Patterson will discuss these issues with her guest, the Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Cleaver III of St James United Methodist Church and they will discuss his and other faith leaders’ concerns about the fatal police shooting of Malcolm Johnson in March and distrust between the police and the black community.

https://sjumckc.org/

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“Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are.”

 

Calendar for the week of June 6th:

  • Legal Aid of Western Missouri can provide free legal assistance to low-income and vulnerable Jackson County homeowners who fall behind on their payments and face foreclosure. Interested individuals can call 816-474-6750 to apply.

 

  • You can find Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense events at org. Open to all, Mothers and others!

 

  • MON, June 7th, noon, No More Excuses Coalition Meeting at the Mohart Center Auditorium, 3200 Wayne, KCMO.

 

  • MONday Meets: 4 PM, June 7th, an Online event hosted by The Willow Domestic Violence Center on Facebook Live, a chance to meet and talk.

 

  • MON, June 7th, 6:45 – 8:45 PM KC Criminal Justice Task Force KCCJTF meeting via conference call if you would like to join in, please call the Conference call # :605-313-5573 when asked for code then enter 454777.

 

 

  • TUES, June 8th, 6:30 PM Felon: A Play by Reginald Dwayne Betts Before emerging as a critically acclaimed writer and poet and earning appointments to criminal justice panels by President Obama and the governor of Connecticut, before earning a succession of degrees including a J.D. from Yale Law School, Reginald Dwayne Betts spent more than eight years in prison for committing a carjacking. Released at age 24, he now channels the experience and impact of incarceration into his work, including his 2019 book Felons: Poems. Betts carries that dialogue into a special online Library event featuring an excerpt of a solo performance, based on Felon, that he is developing. Felon: A Play speaks to mass incarceration and the challenges of having a complicated conversation about crime, punishment, and sorrow in contemporary America. Betts also discusses the show in the broader context of literary work on those issues. Betts, now 40, has written four collections of poetry and a memoir, A Question of Freedom: A Memoir of Learning, Survival, and Coming of Age in Prison, released in 2009. Felon: Poems won the 2019 NAACP Image Award for outstanding literary work in poetry and was named one of The New York Times’s 100 Notable Books of 2020. Betts also is founder and director of the Million Book Project, in partnership with the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, whose mission is to establish libraries of 500 curated books in prisons across the country. RSVP https://kclibrary.org/signature-events/felon-play 

Watch the Library presentation live online at YouTube.com/kclibrary.

 

  • FRI, June 11th, 7 PM, The KC Area wide Chapter of Parents of Murdered Children and Other Survivors of Homicide will hold their monthly meeting at Our Lady of Sorrows Church, 2552 Gillham Road, KCMO. They meet to provide assistance to all survivors of homicide victims. If you would like to be added to our mailing list or be contacted, leave your information at [email protected]

 

  • SAT, June 12th, Noon, Mothers of Incarcerated Sons and Daughters MONTHLY SESSION offers support/advocacy for anyone with an incarcerated loved one. At Plexpod Westport Commons, centrally located on busline, easy to find at 300 E. 39th St KCMO (Annex A) meeting room with convenient parking and much more. https://misdkc.org/

 

  • A list of services, meals, and hot lines are available at lawrenceprogressivecalendar.blogspot.com. It is updated daily.

 

Please take care of yourselves and others. Thanks to all our listeners, stay close to your dial and stay well! If you are out, please wear a mask!

 

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