Kansas City Police Criticize Arrest of Pregnant Black Woman

Videos of an American police officer kneeling over a pregnant black woman while being arrested led to calls for the firing of the officer involved and rekindled demands that the police chief resign.

The videos show the woman on the ground with the Kansas City police officer’s knee behind her back as people in the crowd yell at her to stop because she is pregnant. Some officers can be heard telling the crowd that they will be arrested if they don’t back down.

Kevin Woolfolk, director of member engagement for The Southern Christian Leadership Conference-Greater Kansas City, said the videos showed another example of how poorly the Kansas City police treat the black community.

“This most recent act of brutality is disgraceful and is further proof that the Kansas City Police Department is totally infected with the sin of racism and totally incapable of protecting the peace and safety of the public when it comes to Black lives, “Woolfolk said at a news conference on Friday.

Police and a lawyer for the woman gave different accounts of what happened during the confrontation Wednesday night at a business in eastern Kansas City.

The woman’s attorney, Stacy Shaw, said the woman was attending a balloon launch for a homicide victim at an intersection that has been the scene of anti-crime and civil justice demonstrations for years.

The woman was filming the event and complained when an officer backed away from her. The officer responded by pushing the woman and then throwing her to the ground and arresting her, Shaw said.

Kansas City police spokesman Capt. David Jackson said in a statement Thursday that officers rushed to the scene after a business owner reported people fighting.

He said the women in the video and a man interfered with officers trying to arrest another man. The officer tried to arrest the woman while she was standing, but left her on the ground when she continued to resist, Jackson said. The officer said he tried not to put pressure on the woman’s back while arresting her, according to the statement.

Jackson said Friday that police did not comment on personnel issues and did not respond to a question about calls for Smith’s firing.

Civil rights leaders ridiculed that version of events Friday at a press conference, saying the videos show the woman was not resisting.

Troy Robertson, who has led peace rallies at the intersection, said he was the one police were trying to arrest. He said the police have beaten him several times over the years due to his demonstrations.

Robertson said that when the woman asked why the police were arresting him, people started yelling that she was pregnant and the officer reacted by throwing her to the ground.

“Why [does] Nothing ever happens to them when they are wrong, but if I am wrong I go to jail, “said Robertson.” … I’m tired. Something has to give. When these agents make a mistake, hold them accountable for what they are doing. “

The woman was evaluated at a hospital and released, but was in extreme pain, Shaw said, adding that an obstetrician examined her Friday and that the baby appeared to be fine.

“This is another example of the inhumanity that the Kansas City Police Department has shown to the black community,” Shaw said in an interview. “It is another example of how the people of our community have suffered at the hands of Chief Rick Smith and police department officers … There is no justification, there is no excuse and we will hold officers to the fullest extent possible. Law.”

Civil rights advocates have been calling for Smith’s resignation or firing for months, particularly after clashes during protests sparked by George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis in May. Smith has said he has no intention of resigning.

Shaw and Woolfolk were joined at the press conference by representatives from the Urban League of Greater Kansas City, the AdHoc Group Against Crime, the local chapter of the NAACP and the Police Accountability Taskforce calling for justice and Smith’s dismissal.

The groups also harshly criticized Mayor Quinton Lucas, saying he has not responded strongly enough to complaints about the police department and Smith’s leadership.

Lucas said at a different event Friday that Smith was investigating the arrest and that he and city officials would determine the appropriate response in fairness to all involved. He said the incident did not change his view of the boss’s job, but that everyone in the city leadership could improve to improve relationships and communication with the public.

Police released a video Friday showing people standing between the officers and Robertson, who is left unframed. The arrest of the woman is not shown on video, which jumps to when she is on the ground.

– Associated Press