Of Chief Importance

Illustration by Thuan Pham

“Shots fired at Towne East!” What level of force is needed to stop this violence? How many active shooters are involved? What other information is provided to responding officers?

A 911 call leads to a confrontation between police officers and a man experiencing a heightened mental illness crisis; subsequently, a police officer is critically injured by the suspect, who had been hiding in a shed with an assault-style rifle. How could this situation have been handled differently?

With nearly 600 officers to patrol behaviors of over 392,000 Wichitans, the next Wichita Police Department chief will need to address several questions pertaining to the procedures and processes that can determine the difference between life and death, freedom or imprisonment, and the general feeling of safety for an entire community.

The selection process to replace retired Police Chief Gordon Ramsay has begun, and City Manager Robert Layton is in position to extend the contract to the candidate who will be vetted by the community at large through public discussion, and through a few chosen city leaders. The City Council voted unanimously on March 8 to award an $58,000 contract to Public Sector Search & Consulting Inc., a national search firm that exclusively recruits police chiefs for cities. The consulting agency is expected to provide police chief candidates by the end of this summer.

Layton calls for a new police chief who is “experienced, approachable, and collaborative,” a leader who will be “expected to expand upon the innovative policing practices and community engagement efforts of the department,” with established traits of openness, transparency, and the ability to achieve community policing and outreach within diverse populations. He also said he wanted department input in the decision, and prefers at least nine years of law enforcement experience, three years or more as a supervisor or administrator.

Sedgwick County’s lead prosecutor, District Attorney Marc Bennett, would like the police chief to have knowledge of how to conduct mental health services. “This is an issue in nearly every city in America,” he said. “The new chief will need to have an understanding of the issue, be willing to pursue effective collaboration with non-law enforcement stakeholders in the mental health community, advocacy groups, philanthropies and county and city government.”

Bennett also wants the chief to continue to develop stronger ties between officers and the neighborhoods they patrol. “Community relations and community-based policing are more important than ever, but for any community to have trust in their law enforcement agencies, they have to know that the officers understand how to conduct a quality investigation,” he said. “This is no criticism of the current department, but I would want to know that the new chief also considers quality investigations a priority.”

Bennett said he’s comfortable with an internal or external candidate. “Both approaches have their advantages. Someone from outside can bring fresh ideas and is not burdened by ties to any individual or organization. That said, it’s asking a lot of a person to arrive in a city and immediately be expected to run an organization as large as the WPD with as many responsibilities as the WPD is obligated to handle, with no institutional knowledge. This approach of bringing in someone from the outside to be a new police chief is an accepted practice nationally — but it really takes the right fit to work.”

Another form of engagement that many community leaders advocate is that with members of the public in non-confrontational situations, like those found with community policing.

NAACP President Larry Burks, Sr. emphasized the same ideas that many leaders around the country have demanded from law enforcement leadership: transparency, communication, diversity, and a willingness to change the approach to the profession.

Police are supposed to “protect and serve,” and Burks said it’s inherent that responsible leadership is willing to make changes in policy; employees who engage in activities that don’t meet law enforcement standards shouldn’t be in the job.

“We need assurances,” he said. “We need open communication with the department to maintain trust.”

Burks also believes that the new chief needs to be qualified with law enforcement training, even FBI experience, have worked at the grass roots level, be proficient at budget management, and hold a reputation of responsibility and respect as a leader. “That said, we must give the new police chief time and grace, time to get to know the community and its issues and then implement changes, better solutions,” he added.

Burks believes the Wichita Citizen’s Review Board is critical to transparency and disclosure with police-involved shootings and other potentially controversial, litigious incidents. The most active citizen oversight boards in the U.S. investigate allegations of police misconduct and recommend actions to the chief or sheriff, and Burks believes that Wichita’s board must also display strength while seeking truth and justice for all citizens, including law enforcement officers.

“Camera footage, using discretion, for the legal protection of rights is crucial,” Burks said, “While an investigation is ongoing, after a certain time frame, the Citizens Board needs to see it.” Burks noted that video footage doesn’t answer all questions to determine guilt during an incident, but it’s needed to establish factual evidence, and to maintain trust between the police and the public. Wichita’s police department authorized use of body-worn cameras in 2014, and by 2019, the department announced it would implement 539 of these cameras to officers and field sergeants.

“Our next police chief needs the moral courage to do the right thing, to lead by example,” Burks said. Referencing accusations of racist tweets by current and former police officers, Burkes asserted that “bad behavior by some shouldn’t taint remaining law enforcement.” He hopes that difficult confrontations end with all participants able to return safely back to their families. De-escalation training is the key to that outcome, Burks believes.

Many policing strategies have been implemented in the U.S. over the past few decades to decrease all forms of crime, especially violent acts. From “broken windows” to focused deterrence, crime reduction and community response has produced mixed results, but given the national focus on law enforcement procedures over the past two years, Wichita’s next police chief will face numerous, very challenging questions from various local groups on these critical topics.