Letter from the Chief
Mayor Dunn, Members of the City Council & Leawood Citizens,
What a year 2020 was. 2020 proved to be a challenging year for our country, our state and our city. All of us struggled through an ongoing pandemic the majority of the year. We also witnessed lawful, and far too many unlawful, protests which occurred in our area primarily during the summer months. These events impacted all of us.
Although it is easy to look back on this past year and see it less than favorably, we can look back and see positives as well. For example, during the time the protests were growing many demands were made of law enforcement agencies throughout the country - ours included. What we quickly realized, and to be honest already knew, is that our police department and area law enforcement was far ahead of many other areas as it related to the reforms being called for. The most significant nationwide reforms for law enforcement were already in place here. These “demands” for law enforcement reforms became a confirmation we were doing our jobs well and as the public expects us to. Perhaps just as importantly, they opened up a line of communication between law enforcement and some parts of our community which needed to have a respectful and ongoing conversation.
It is not as easy to look at 2020 positively when looking at our crime rates. Property crime was up substantially-especially thefts from motor vehicles and vehicle thefts. These crimes of opportunity plagued our city the majority of the year. Our violent crime rate remained very low. Another positive on our overall numbers was the number of crashes which were down significantly. This was attributable to the decreased number of vehicles on the road caused by governmental shutdowns and increased number of people working from home due to the pandemic.
What remained constant throughout this unique year was the employees of your police department receiving a tremendous amount of support. On behalf of the men and women of our police department I would like to thank you for that. We are proud to be able to serve the Leawood community.
Troy Rettig, Chief of Police
Chief Troy Rettig, the city’s ninth police chief, was named Chief of Police in September of 2015. He began his career in Leawood in 1993 and in 2020 served as the President of the Johnson County Police Chiefs and Sheriffs Association. Operating under a mission “to protect the community while setting the standard for service to ensure a peaceful quality of life,” Chief Rettig oversees a staff of 84 divided into three divisions: Administrative Services, Support Services and Operations. The department had an operating budget of approximately $11.4 million in 2020.
Total Calls for Service in
Types of Calls (Yearly Totals)
Officer Initiated Dispatched
2020 Call Volume (by Month)
The Leawood Police Department in 2020 operated with a budget of $11.4 million, approximately 17% of the city’s overall budget.
The single largest cost for the department are the salaries and benefits for its 84 personnel – a budgeted amount of $9.3 million. The remainder of the budget is spent for contractual services which includes utilities and other services the department uses; commodities, which includes uniforms and other materials used by the department; and capital, which primarily covers the cost of our vehicles.
The vast majority (97 percent) of the department’s budget comes from the city’s general fund. For 2020, the budgeted cost per citizen for police services was $341 with a ratio of 546 citizens per commissioned officer.
Overall Budget (by Program)
Like much of the world, Leawood was impacted by COVID-19 in 2020. While the virus first landed in the United States in late January 2020, locally the city was not directly impacted until March. By the time the year was over, the city would see more than 2,500 positive exposures.
The police department, even facing a pandemic, needed to continue its daily operations with a few changes made. Selfinitiated traffic contacts were cut back drastically; reports were taken outside if possible and deep cleaning became a way of life. Most noticeably, it wasn’t just ‘robbers’ wearing masks as face masks became just as much a part of our standard equipment as our badge.
Inside the station, new barriers were erected between desks, walkin services were limited, and temperature checks became a way of life. Video cameras were purchased for computers as meetings and court hearings moved into the virtual world.
Despite the precautions, the staff was still impacted by the disease. A total of 24 employees were quarantined, costing the city 1462 man hours. The year wrapped up with employees waiting for vaccinations, scheduled for first responders in early January 2021.
Covid Impact
Community Contacts
he Leawood Police Department welcomes citizen comments about the actions of its employees, both positive and negative. The people we serve are our customers and we are committed to our department values of Integrity, Teamwork, Service, Fairness and Dedication.
Not every police contact will completely satisfy those involved and this agency is committed to an open and impartial investigation of citizen complaints as a major means of improving our agency, personnel and operations. All complaints will be thoroughly investigated and promptly resolved. No one may be discouraged from making a complaint, even anonymously, as we take our obligation to be open to complaints very seriously and firmly believe that this is necessary to insure the integrity of the Department and its members.
A complaint will first be directed to a supervisor, who will clarify any portions of the complaint. This supervisor’s role is to document the facts of the incident and the basis for the complaint, not its validity. They may resolve the issue at this stage if it involves simply answering questions about our policies or providing information.
After the initial review of the facts, a complaint is forwarded to our Professional Standards Officer for investigation, which includes interviews with the complainant, officer(s), witnesses, any video of the incident and any other available evidence.
Upon conclusion of an investigation, the case will be sent to the command staff for review and final disposition by the Chief of Police. Complainants will be informed in writing of that disposition if they request it.
2020
Complaints
The May 25th death of George Floyd while in the custody of Minneapolis, MN, Police Officers was the spark that ignited a summer of protest across the county. Law enforcement agencies throughout the county came under additional scrutiny – including Leawood.
Chief Troy Rettig joined Mayor Peggy Dunn in immediately supporting the decision to terminate the officers involved in this tragic event. They also invited people with questions about our police department to contact us so that we could begin an open dialogue.
A social media campaign that resonated in Leawood was the #8Can’tWait initiative, which sought eight immediate reforms of police departments. Encouragingly, the majority of the reforms were policies and procedures the Leawood Police Department already had in place. Among them:
•Ban chokeholds and strangleholds – these skills were not part of our department’s Use of Force policy nor were they taught to our officers. They have since been explicitly banned.
•Duty to intervene and stop excessive force by other officers – this request is a direct response to the death of George Floyd, and this duty was already a part of LPD’s Use of Force policy.
•Require a use of force continuum – the LPD has had a written use of force policy for more than 25 years. The current model clearly states this agency “recognizes and respects the value of all human life and dignity without prejudice to anyone.”
•Require comprehensive reporting each time an officer uses force or threatens to do so – for decades LPD officers have completed a written report of any use of force, including the act of pointing a firearm at a person.
Events ran beyond social media statements as concerned individuals took to the streets to express their opinions. Fortunately, while the three public protests that impacted Leawood included some social disobedience, none of them featured the violence and property destruction that marked other protests across the country.
Moving forward the department continues to welcome an open dialogue with those who have questions because it is only be communication that we can understand the other person and make headway toward a better tomorrow.
Photo by Shawnee Mission Post
The Leawood Police Department continues to enjoy a wonderful relationship with the community we serve. Adapting to COVID protocols in May, we joined members of the Leawood Fire Department in a birthday parade to celebrate Eleanor Peattie’s 11 th birthday (left). In September the local Knights of Columbus stopped by the station to present a donation to help fund our citizen engagement events (left, middle). Food, and not just doughnuts, was also given to us, including cookies from the Ascension Youth Ministries (lower left) and sandwiches from the staff and residents at the Town Village of Leawood (below).
The Nessinger family brought by an assortment of holiday cookies (right) and in June a resident paid for breakfast (middle right). Adapting to COVID restrictions, the Leawood Police Department presented the colors for a Kansas City Royals game virtually from the city park (lower left) while Officer Chudik stopped by a socially distanced group to say hello (lower right). A TGIF event at Town Center gave one young man and his mom a close up of Officer Shields’ motorcycle (right).
David Tompkins
POfficer of the Year
ushing himself and others to develop their skills while also taking care of his responsibilities as a Patrol Officer led to David Tompkins being chosen as the Leawood Police Department’s Officer of the Year.
Tompkins, who joined the department in December of 2016, is a Patrol Officer who worked 183 shifts, completing 353 incident reports primarily on the Evening Shift. While he showed himself to be a strong performer as an officer, Tompkins particularly distinguished himself as a trainer. Of the shifts he worked, Tompkins served as a training officer for new officers 78 shifts (42%). Additionally, he has taken on the responsibilities and accumulated the training to serve the department as a Range master, Milo Interactive Computer Instructor, Counter Terrorism Response trainer and Ballistic Shield trainer – and developed a reputation as an outstanding instructor.
While presenting the award to Tompkins, Chief Troy Rettig also made note of the leadership he has displayed as an informal leader for a young patrol team – pushing his peers to better themselves and willing to step in to correct mistakes as he established himself as one of a cadre of positive informal leaders.
“Though David would be hesitant to admit it, what separates him from the rest is his leadership. We may be the supervisors, but clearly the rest of the crew looks to him as an information leader. He goes out of his way to coach the younger or less confident officers. This crew is a very positive, fun group and his influence is a major (reason),” read a nomination from one of his supervisors.
“Numerous Leawood Officers go above and beyond what is expected of them. I am honored to be named Officer of the Year, especially considering how difficult this year has been,” Tompkins said after receiving the award. “I am truly grateful for the opportunities afforded to me by the Department, and I count myself lucky to have had the experiences and co-workers I have had.”
RCivilian Employee of the Year
ecords Specialist Jeff Culbertson was chosen as the department’s Civilian Employee of the Year in recognition of his proactive efforts to introduce new ideas while still maintaining a commitment to his core responsibilities as well.
In his three years in Records Unit, he has worked hard to learn all of the different skills required in this position and then sought out ways to improve. Culbertson suggested using our FTP cloud based transfer site which now allows a more efficient way of distributing police reports to attorneys and others who have requested them. In the last year he has taken on the responsibilities as the coordinator of the city’s false alarm program and a ‘go-to’ person for the NICHE records management software for not just his unit, but all of the department’s users.
“Jeff is a hard worker. He is someone who doesn’t sit and wait for change. He is part of moving forward,” said a co-worker in nominating him for the award.
Reaching outside the department, Jeff coordinated a program that monthly brought a dog in from a local animal shelter to socialize and be seen in hopes of improving their chances for adoption.
“The award was a complete surprise to me and I consider it a great honor to be recognized like this. In this department there are so many others who qualify for this that I am truly humbled to be selected. It establishes expectations that I hope I can continue to accomplish,” Culbertson said after receiving the award.
Klinger Recognized for 40 Years of Service
MARC’s Public Safety Awards for 2020 also recognized Communications Officer David Klingler for 40 years of service to public safety. An officer for more than 25 years, including time as a commissioned dispatcher with the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, Klingler returned to the dispatch console when he ‘retired.’
Damron Receives Lifetime Achievement Award Employees
Communications Supervisor Greg Damron was one of three public safety communications professionals recognized with the MidAmerica Regional Council (MARC)’s Public Safety Lifetime Achievement Award. For the last 35 years MARC has coordinated 9-1-1 service for the nine county metropolitan area and annually they present awards to the emergency dispatchers who make this system work. Damron has established himself as a fixture in the 9-1-1 community since he started with Leawood PD in 1991. In addition to his work as a dispatcher, he has served on a variety of MARC committees, including those that helped develop the region’s interoperable public safety radio system. Damron has also used his self-taught skills in Microsoft Access to design a program that quickly pulls information into a single source for dispatchers to tap into – a program he has shared with a number of agencies in Johnson County.
Chudik Wins Top Gun Honors
After years of trying, Mark Chudik (left in photo) finally grasped the department’s previously elusive Top Gun trophy.
“I was thrilled to have finally won this, especially because so many of the officers are incredible shots in their own right,” the 24-year officer said. “I have to thank all of the range staff (past and present) for their patience and help as well.”
The Top Gun Award is presented annually to the top shooter in a timed course of fire. This year’s course featured 43 shots from an AR15 rifle at a variety of ranges and positions. The shots were scored as 5, 4, 3 or 0 depending on their location on the target. As a tiebreaker, a final 85-yard shot was taken. Among the 46 officers that completed the challenge course, Chudik shot a perfect score of 215 – besting three others who scored 214.
Awards
Quarter 1 Quarter 2 Quarter 3 Quarter 4
The department again received an AAA Platinum Community Traffic Safety Award. This marks the seventh year in a row that AAA has recognized the work of the police department, in cooperation with the public works and parks and recreation departments, for their efforts to educate, design and build, and protect pedestrians, bicyclists and the motoring public.
2020
Ranked Top 10 Safest Cities in Kansas
Why I Serve
“My focus throughout my career has been based on the idea that we are here to make people feel safe and secure as they go about their daily lives.”
- Phil Goff, serving since 1995
“I believe the best way one can make a difference in their community is to get up and make the difference a reality. I see people on one of the worst days of their lives. As a police officer I represent a kind face, a resource, someone who is there and listening when no one else might be. I protect and serve and I don’t take that statement lightly.”
- Andrew Walls, serving since 2015
“I serve to make a positive impact in the community, no matter how small the interaction.”
- Cody Morse, serving since 2018
“I feel like we are the first first-responders and we are the link between a person having the worst day of their life and the people who can help them. I have been on the other end of 9-1-1, so I try to use the memory of that feeling to help me when I pick up 9-1-1. “
- Regina Shaw-Ellis, Communications Officer serving since 1998
The Administra8ve Services Division is comprised of the Professional Standards, Property and Evidence, Records and Dispatch units. This Division is staffed by four commissioned officers and 20 noncommissioned employees whose work is essen8al to mee8ng the high standard of service we provide for our community. The Professional Standards unit inves8gates ci8zen complaints and also coordinates the hiring of new employees as well as the training of current employees.
Capt. Dale Finger, who this year celebrated his 47th year in law enforcement, is the division commander.
Capt. Finger joined the Leawood Police Department in 2006 aPer re8ring from the Kansas Bureau of Inves8ga8ons.
Dale Finger Administrative Services Division Commander
Incoming 9-1-1- Emergency
Calls to Dispatch Dispatch fielded a total of 41,942 calls in 2020
9-1-1 Calls
10,464
9,478
10,053
DIVISION HIGHLIGHTS
:
• Working with the Drug Enforcement Agency, the department collected 422 pounds of unused or unwanted prescription drugs.
• Purchased and installed several new stationary license plate readers in the city. These readers helped with several warrant arrests, but also helped to identify fleeing criminals in a shots fired call in Overland Park, an aggravated battery case and a theft of lawn care equipment.
• Coordinated training for all of the department’s members in Counter Terrorism Responses as well as civil disobedience and de-escalation refresher training.
Animal Control Officer Activity (by Month)
Animal Control Officer Activity (by Month)
Records Unit Activity (by Month)
Records Unit Activity (by Month)
Pieces of Property
Processed in 2020: 4,263
Taken In Property Out
Stolen merchandise from shoplifting case. Seized money and drug paraphernalia.
Seized drugs and cash from felony arrest.
The strangest item handled in 2020- Unicorn costume head left on a resident’s porch.
The department welcomed eight new employees in 2020, filling spots left by a pair of retirements, resignations and openings carried over from the previous year.
Within the commissioned ranks, Josiah Mort, Morgan VanHarn, Seth Hudson, Luke Milum and David Hulse were all sworn in during the year.
While VanHarn had previously attended a police academy while attending the University of Central Missouri, the other four were sent to the Johnson County Regional Police Academy for their basic training. Mort distinguished himself as the top marksman in the 130th class that graduated in August 2020 while Hudson was the top scholar of the 131st class that graduated in December 2020 – setting a high bar for Milum and Hulse in the 132nd class that graduates in May of 2021.
Brittney Cannon was hired to fill an opening in the Records Unit after the promotion of Julie Berger to Executive Assistant in Police Administration. Anna Hill was hired as the department’s first Crime Analyst in the Investigations Unit and Jennifer Harbin joined the Communications Unit.
By the end of the year, all but one officer position had been filled.
Leawood Officers Josiah Mort, Seth Hudson & Morgan VanHarn
Anna Hill, Leawood’s 1st Crime Analyst
Brittney Cannon, Records Specialist
Jennifer Harbin, Communications Officer
The largest and most visible of the department's many units, the members of the Operations or Patrol Division perform much of the publicly visible work of law enforcement in the City of Leawood. The division's 39 patrol officers are on duty 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to respond to calls for service.
Captain Kirt Yoder is the Operations Division Commander. He joined the Leawood Police Department in 1999 and served as a patrol officer, motorcycle officer and supervisor before his promotion to Captain in 2019.
Kirt Yoder
Operations Division Commander
Most Frequent Traffic Citations
DIVISION HIGHLIGHTS:
• The department’s patrol vehicles’ graphics took on a simpler look as the single Leawood seven-pointed star returned in place of the block “Police” text.
• Six Patrol officers earned Lifesaving Awards: Cody Morse, John McLaughlin, Jake Woods, Ethan Caldwell, Christina Farquhar, and David Tompkins. Three of these awards were earned in one day in May as first Woods and 30 minutes later Caldwell and Farquhar were called upon to provide lifesaving care to residents in distress.
• Sgt. Mike Marchese was recognized by a national theft prevention group for his assistance in identifying international pick-pocket theft suspects who were charged in Kentucky and Massachusetts.
Total Traffic Stops 2020: 11,912
On November 14th, Leawood Officers Ethan Caldwell and Christina Farquhar captured auto burglary suspect who was found hiding in the freezing Tomahawk Creek. According to medics, the suspect was minutes away from succumbing to hypothermia.
Persons Crime (by Year)
Total Property Crimes (by Year)
Selected Property Crimes (by Year)
Property crimes, specifically thefts from vehicles and stolen autos, took a big jump in 2020. In response to this jump, Leawood Officers began posting signs in parks and other spaces to remind people to secure their items. While some victims saw their window broken to steal items in view, nearly 65% of the thefts were from unlocked vehicles. Similarly, 79% of the stolen vehicles were unlocked – often with a key or spare key in them.
Leawood takes steps to address growing mental health component
Recognizing the increasing presence that mental health plays in our agency’s calls for service, the Leawood Police Department in September of 2018 began steps to improve our response. That year, approximately 2% of our dispatched calls had a mental health component. By 2020, this number had doubled!
A key component was to join the International Association of Chiefs of Police One Mind Campaign. Agencies joining the campaign promised that within 36 months they would complete three components. By the end of 2020, for all intents and purposes we have completed this pledge.
· Establish a clearly defined and sustainable partnership with one or more community mental health organization(s). Our co-responder program with the Johnson County Mental Health Department provides us with a trained mental health professional to respond on calls and conduct follow-ups 20 hours/week as well as access by phone to trained crisis responders 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
· Develop and implement a model policy addressing police response to persons affected by mental illness . The department’s policy was updated using the national model policy supplied by the Lexipol Corporation to bring us in line with the latest industry standards on response.
· Train and certify 100 percent of your agency’s sworn officers (and selected nonsworn staff, such as dispatchers) in mental health awareness courses by a) providing Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training to a minimum of 20 percent of sworn officers (and selected non-sworn staff); and b) providing Mental Health First Aid training to the remaining sworn officers (and selected non-sworn staff) not receiving CIT training. LPD has 56% (34 of 60) of our officers and 55% (6 of 11) of our dispatchers CIT trained. All but 3 officers and 2 dispatchers have completed at least Mental Health First Aid and those who haven’t are scheduled to complete it in the first quarter of 2021.
Looking ahead, our recruit officers now receive Mental Health First Aid training at the regional police academy and a number officers will be building on their training by attending upcoming CIT courses.
The Support Services Division is made up the department’s Investigation Unit, Traffic Management Unit and DARE/SRO Community Education Unit. The officers who make up these diverse units were selected to receive specialized training and transferred to fill a position in this division after years of experience in the Patrol Division.
Capt. Brad Robbins was named the division commander in January 2020, after having previously supervised the Administrative Services and Operations Divisions since being promoted to the command staff in 2015.
Brad Robbins
Support
Services
Division Commander
DIVISION HIGHLIGHTS:
• Officer Coby Shields was the top rider in the metro police motorcyclist course for 2020. Considered one of the toughest/ most physical courses an officer can participate in, Coby certainly earned his wings and is now serving as a police motorcycle officer.
• A new command post vehicle was delivered, replacing a 1997 Freightliner unit.
Top Crash Locations
Having added two new investigators in late 2019, the unit quickly found themselves with plenty of work. After a lull in activity in the early spring, property crimes exploded throughout the remainder of the year as criminals set new highs for the number of Thefts from Autos and Stolen Autos. Fortunately the statistics weren’t all bad as fewer aggravated assaults and batteries, robberies and shopliftings were reported.
As with other areas of law enforcement, COVID had its impact on Investigations as well. In a sign of the times, the great majority of surveillance camera shots featured a masked subject, making identification all the more difficult.
In addition to their new cases, the unit continued to investigate the December 2019 homicide of Zachary Morrisey – a crime that
The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the department’s community involvement officers. With schools closing due to health concerns, the department’s three DARE/SRO officers began working patrol shifts to assist with staffing in that division.
In between their patrol assignments, the three officers – Phil Goff, Emily Craighead and Timehin Babalola – planned several socially distanced community events and recruited other officers to join them in reaching out and engaging in conversations with the community.
After several years of record Citizen’s Academy participation, including two sessions in 2019, COVID also wiped out the 2020 edition of this popular community educational program.
Seeking to provide some fun for department members, the unit hosted a socially distant outdoor Halloween event for department members and their families.
As schools responded to COVID with switches to distance learning programs in the spring of 2020, Officer Phil Goff joined the kids’ ZOOM classrooms to share some of his DARE course lessons.
Honoring the Fallen
The stark reality of the dangers of law enforcement was front and center on May 3, 2020, when Leawood officers were dispatched to assist at the scene of an officer-involved shooting, a shooting that took the life of Overland Park Officer Michael Mosher. Later, Leawood officers joined the community and their peers from throughout the region in several events paying tribute to Officer Mosher’s sacrifice, including a parade of marked units through the streets of Overland Park and his funeral procession on May 13th.
Later in May, unable to join the national Unity Tour for fallen officers in Washington D.C. due to COVID, Capt. Kirt Yoder organized a Johnson County Unity Tour. The group, which included ten current and retired officers representing Leawood, Prairie Village, and Gardner Police Departments and the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, rode from the Leawood Justice Center, past the scene of Officer Mosher’s death and a memorial to Deputy Brandon Collins (EOW 9-11-2016) before ending their 75mile ride at the Law Enforcement Officers’ Memorial in Topeka, KS.
For the second year in a row, scouts from Cub Scout Pack 3010 honored the law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty by erecting an Honor Tree in the Leawood Justice Center lobby. In addition to its blue lights, the tree featured blue ornaments with the name of the fallen officer – a total of 328 officers (including 210 from COVID) before the year’s end.
Jim Herman and K9 Bob Earl
Formed as a team in the late summer of 2013, Officer Jim Herman and K9 Bob Earl walked out the door together seven years later in March of 2020.
Herman first joined the agency in January 2002 after having previously served with the Paola Police Department. In 2004, he submitted a proposal to begin using his previous K9 partner, Baehr, in Leawood – expanding the LPD unit to two dogs and carving a niche he would remain in for the rest of his career.
Herman and Baehr served together for two more years before he was paired with K9 Duke from 2006 until 2013. With Duke’s retirement, Herman was then paired with K9 Bob Earl. During their career together Herman and Bob Earl completed 364 deployments in Leawood and another 161 for outside agencies. They uncovered more than 9,800 grams of illegal drugs, 662 pieces of drug paraphernalia and assisted in the confiscation of more than $23,628 in cash and 262 arrests.
When he wasn’t with his four-legged partners, Herman could often be found on the range or in the armory. A certified firearms instructor when he joined the department, Herman joined the Leawood firearms staff in 2008 and was an armorer for the department’s weapons systems. During this time he twice helped evaluate and recommend new handguns for the department’s officers.
Over the course of his career Jim earned dozens of thank you letters from members of the public and outside agencies after demonstrations. He received five letters of commendation and in 2005 received the department’s Purple Heart Award after being struck by a passing motorist while assisting Overland Park Police Officers with a drunk driver on the ramp to eastbound I-435.
Following department tradition Bob Earl, like Baehr and Duke before him, became Herman’s personal K9 when his service was complete.
Donita Crossland
Donita joined the Leawood Police Department in March of 2004 as a Records Specialist, one of three people charged with sorting and storing the large volume of records and reports generated by the agency’s members. In October of 2014, Donita was promoted to the Police Administration Administrative Assistant position, providing support for the Chief of Police and Division Commanders.
Donita’s hard work and infectious smile were recognized almost immediately as she was chosen as the 2004 Civilian of the Year. During her 16 years with our agency, Donita also volunteered with the Employee Support Committee, helping to plan, decorate for and clean-up from dozens of swearing in ceremonies, annual award dinners and retirements. She was also very enthusiastic about sharing her interest in personal wellness and health, organizing a weight challenge for the city as part of their 2006 employee health fair. Donita was also the only civilian certified as a fitness instructor and helped administer the department’s Cooper Physical Fitness exams for years as well as participating herself.
“I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I first started in Records at the old station on Lee Boulevard,” Crossland said in a good-bye message for her fellow employees. “Knowing you save lives, protect lives, and serve with your life gives me a feeling of being blessed and grateful to have such a wonderful department of officers that work for the City of Leawood. I appreciate ALL that you do. My Blue Family will be in my heart forever. Thank you for the friendships I will cherish, the experiences that cannot compare to any other job, and the fun & laughter we have shared.”
