By Delores Jones and Anthony Tao
Kansas City, MO – On Wednesday, a 71-year-old Kansas City Kansas woman was buried by her family members. She had been mauled the week before in a pit bull attack. Johnnie Mae McConnell had told her family that she was afraid her neighbor's dogs would come after her. Police charged her neighbor Derek Lee with involuntary manslaughter, though he said it was a stray dog that attacked McConnell. Kansas City Kansas, where McConnell lived, banned pit bulls back in 1990, and they're also illegal in Shawnee, Leawood, Grandview, Liberty, and as of last week, Overland Park. A series of recent attacks has other cities, including Kansas City Missouri, looking at measures to protect people from pit bulls, though the attack in KCK has people questioning the effectiveness of outright bans. Leslie Forsberg is acting director of Animal Health and Public Safety in Kansas City, Missouri. She spoke to KCUR's Delores Jones over the phone from her office.
Anthony Tao headed out to Overland Park, near state line and 150th to get a sense of what people are thinking about pit bull legislation.