police

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.

Kansas Citians are fed up with dangerous and reckless street racing and stunt driving, which led to the injury of one officer earlier this month. KCPD Police Chief Stacey Graves said the department has operations planned to curb it, and are working with elected officials to increase penalties for participants and spectators.

Cameron Lamb's mother settled her lawsuit over then-KCPD detective Eric DeValkenaere's shooting of her son for $4.1 million. Money will also go to the mothers of Lamb's children.

A new Missouri law gives a state board control over the St. Louis Police Department, instead of the mayor, similar to the system in Kansas City. The lawsuit calls it an unfunded mandate because it requires the city to spend a certain percentage of its budget on police.