Kansas City’s Board of Police Commissioners on Thursday carried out one of its highest-profile responsibilities when members announced they had chosen police Maj. Stacey Graves as the new chief of police.
The hiring of Graves, the first woman to lead the department on a non-interim basis, concluded a process that began when former Chief Rick Smith resigned in April.
In most cities, that process would have been handled by elected officials or a city manager. But Kansas City does not have authority over its own police department. Instead, KCPD reports to a police board whose members are appointed by the governor of Missouri. Besides hiring the chief of police, the board makes important decisions about how the department operates and spends its budget of more than $268 million.
The board is made up of five members, including the mayor and four governor appointees. It meets once a month to discuss and vote on topics ranging from complaints against police officers to the appointment of the police chief and budgetary decisions.
In recent years, as controversies around police conduct and procedures have multiplied, a core of activists has watched police board meetings carefully. For most Kansas Citians, though, the workings of the board are mostly a mystery. Even the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce joined other groups and individuals...
Pakistan on April 22, Thursday urged the United Nations to call upon India to restore full implementation of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), warning that New Delhi’s “illegal” decision to hold the ...