Leawood Police Department HONOR • INTEGRITY • PROFESSIONALISM
2018 Annual Report
SNAP SHOTS
Rockhurs stop by tot High students , say “than ks.”
Leawood’s biggest fan, Officer Oliver, delivers yummy “power rings.”
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The Graff family delivers smiles and goo dwill.
LPD officers visit Menorah Hospital patient.
LPD “No-Shave November” contest participants.
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Troy Re
olice P f o f e i ttig, Ch
ADMINISTRATION 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. Chief Rettig oversees a staff that is divided into three d i v i s i o n s : A d m i n i s t r a t i v e Services, Support Services and Operations. The Leawood Police Department has an authorized strength of 84 - 61 police officers and 23 civilian personnel. In 2018 the department had a budget of $10.6 million.
Deputy Chief Kevin Cauley, who joined the department in 1992, is t h e C o m m a n d e r o f t h e Administra=ve Services division. The division is made up of the department ’s many civilian employees, who provide support in a number of important roles including the Communica=on, Records, Animal Control and Evidence Units as well as the Professional Standards Officer, Police Technology Officer, Public Service Officers, and the Alarm Coordinator.
Support Services is made up the department’s Inves=ga=ons Unit, Traffic Management Unit and DARE/SRO Community Educa=on Unit. All but one of the members of these units are commissioned officers who, aNer several years on Patrol, were selected to receive specialized training and transferred to fill a posi=on in this division. Capt. Dale Finger, who joined the agency in 2006 aNer 32 years with the Kansas Bureau of Inves=ga=ons, is the division commander.
Easily the most visible of the department's many units, the members of the Opera=ons or Patrol Division perform much of the publicly visible work of law enforcement in the City of Leawood. The division's patrol officers are on duty 24 hours a day, 7 days a week spread throughout the city in their black and white patrol vehicles. Capt. Brad Robbins, who was first hired i n 1 9 9 5 , i s t h e d i v i s i o n commander.
Troy Rettig Chief of Police
Kevin Cauley Administrative Services Division Commander
Dale Finger Support Services Division Commander
Brad Robbins Operations/ Patrol Division Commander
ORGANIZATION CHART Leawood Police Department
Administrative Assistant
Commander Support Services
Commander Administrative Services
Police Finance Admin. Asst.
Professional Standards Sgt.
Senior Communications Officer
Records Specialist
Police Technical Officer
Investigations Sergeant
Commander Operations
Specialty Unit Sergeant
Patrol Crew Sergeant
Patrol Crew Sergeant
Patrol Crew Sergeant
Admin. Corporal
Communications Officer
Records Specialist
Admin. Assistant
Traffic
Corporal
Corporal
Corporal
ACO
Communications Officer
Records Specialist
Detective
Traffic
Patrol
Patrol
Patrol
ACO
Communications Officer
Detective
Traffic
Patrol
Patrol
Patrol
ACO
Communications Officer
Detective
Motorcycle
Patrol
Patrol
Patrol
PSO
Communications Officer
Detective
Motorcycle
Patrol
Patrol
Patrol
PSO
Communications Officer
Detective
Motorcycle
Patrol
Patrol
Patrol
Alarm Coordinator
Communications Officer
DPU Officer
Cyclist
Patrol
Patrol
Patrol
Communications Officer
DPU Officer
Cyclist
Patrol
Patrol
Patrol
Communications Officer
Warrant Officer
Patrol
Patrol
Patrol
Communications Officer
DARE/SRO
Canine
Patrol
Canine
DARE/SRO
DARE/SRO
61 Commissioned 23 Civilian
CALLS FOR SERVICE
CALLS FOR SERVICE After experiencing nearly a 44% jump in calls between 2013 and 2014, the volume of both Admin and 9-1-1 calls received by the Leawood Police Department remained relatively flat the last five years.
In 2018, Leawood Communications Specialists: • Handled 71,848 phone calls, a decrease of 3,9513 or 5.2% from a year ago. •Among these, 9,477 of the calls were 9-1-1 calls— a decrease of 98 calls. Of these calls, 6,842 or 72.2% were wireless calls. • Handled 38 text to 911 calls, 15 more than a year ago. • Coordinated 24,675 events on the radio; 11,731 of which were dispatched and 14,702 calls that were initiated by officers.
CRIME STATS Part I Crimes Examples: Aggravated Assault/ Battery, Arson, Burglary, Homicide, Rape, Robbery, Stolen Auto, Theft
Part II Crimes Examples: Forgery, CDP, Drug & Drug Paraphernalia Oenses, Blackmail, Fraud, Kidnapping, Sex Crimes, Prostitution, Simple Assault/Battery, Stolen Property, Weapon Oenses
CRIME STATS PSA - carry your purse closed on your body when shopping. My purse was in my cart. I turned to get something out of the freezer section and felt someone brush against me. I turned and saw my purse open with my wallet missing. I saw the woman next to me with 2 other people walk away. I yelled, “Give me back my wallet.” She took it out of her scarf and dumped it in the produce. I grabbed it and started following her telling her to give me back anything she took. I snapped her pic, and kept following her while I dialed 911. A woman in the store tried to block her from leaving. She bolted, and that woman and a man followed them. While I was on the phone, I followed them too. She kept screaming at me that I was crazy. Then the man with her sped by me almost hitting the lady helping me and picked her up. They drove off. I was on the phone still & have the license plate #. The police were able to pick them up. Thankfully they only got a couple bucks because all my cards were still secured in my wallet. They police told me it is a ring that has been hitting grocery stores and then going directly to Target, Apple, and Walmart. He said I was the first person to catch them in the act and provide descriptions. I pressed charges, wrote my account, and went home without shopping as I was a bit shaken. Holy cow!
Trader Joe’s theft hits social media
Facebook was the first to publicize the theft of a wallet from a woman’s purse on October 27th. The victim, who was shopping at Trader Joe’s, felt the suspect brush against her and realized her wallet had been taken from her purse. After taking a picture of the suspect and calling 9-1-1, the victim was able to share the picture with Leawood officers and an arrest was made. The victim later posted a picture of the suspect and a warning to other women on Facebook (above). The subject arrested is thought to be part of a South American Theft Group. The PD has taken 10 reports of similar thefts since July of 2017 and we’ve made four arrests. The groups’ actions, which
CRASH STATS Crashes can and do take place anywhere in the city, from parking lots to the Interstate. In 2018 Leawood police oďŹƒcers investigated 723 crashes, a 2.2% decline from a year ago but still well above the six year low of 663 in 2014. Of these crashes 104 or about 1 in 7 resulted in injuries. Fortunately however, there were no fatality crashes in 2018. Among the 723 crashes within the city, 76 (10.5%) took place on I-435 representing a drop of 31.5%.
Top 5 Crash Locations: (Totals) I-435 & State Line Rd: (48) 103rd St. & State Line Rd: (20) 135th St. & State Line Rd: (20) 135th St. & Mission Rd: (16) 133rd St. & State Line: (15)
CRASH STATS
CRASH STATS
2018 Officers of the Quarter
AWARDS
1st Quarter
Tim Klaassen, Communications Officer III
2nd Quarter
Chief Troy Rettig (right) receives his five service stars recognizing his 25 years with Leawood Police Department.
Jesse Ryman, Police Officer III
Officer Tim Mais is recognized as Leawood Police Department’s Top Gun. Sergeant Troy Osborn (left) receives his four service stars recognizing his 20 years with Leawood Police Department.
3rd Quarter Phil Goff, Police Officer IV
4th Quarter
Katy Hudson, Communications Officer II
EMPLOYEES OF THE YEAR
Naomi Kent, center, receives the Civilian of the Year Award from Deputy Chief Kevin Cauley, left, and Police Chief Troy Rettig.
The police department celebrated another year of accomplishments on November 3rd at their annual awards dinner. The highlight of the night was the presentation of the employee of the year awards to Jesse Ryman as Officer of the Year and Communications Officer Naomi Kent as the Civilian of the Year. “I was flattered, humbled and felt very blessed to receive the award,” Kent said afterward. “Leawood PD is a unique atmosphere that provides opportunities to serve both the community and the department and I enjoy being part of such a terrific group of people. This is truly an honor to be nominated among such a group of fine co-workers.” Naomi, who joined the department in May of 2013, was nominated by her peers for the compassion and caring nature she brings to her job. In addition to her dispatch duties, Naomi continues to assist with car safety seat appointments and this year was integral to the creation of the department’s peer support team. “She has been a very active part of the peer support community throughout the region for several critical incidents affecting other agencies and a big proponent for the overall mental wellbeing of our agency,” one nomination said. Naomi also volunteered to assist with communications for the Regional Police Academy’s situational exercises and outside of the agency she serves on the board that hosts the annual Stair Climb to remember the sacrifices made on Sept. 11th.
EMPLOYEES OF THE YEAR
Jesse Ryman, right, receives the Officer of the Year Award from Deputy Chief Kevin Cauley, left, and Police Chief Troy Rettig.
Jesse was named the department’s Officer of the Year after a year in which he was part of many of the department’s important calls. Together with Officer Matt Schroeder, Jesse performed CPR on a fallen jogger who eventually regained a heartbeat and later visited the officers and fire fighters to thank them. He was at the scene when shots were fired during a graduation ceremony at Church of the Resurrection and on another day helped capture an active auto burglar in the same parking lot. He also made the most traffic stops in the department last year (2529 tickets and warnings combined). “Jesse does his job so well, citizens call in and write to the department about how Officer Ryman gave them a ticket and how much they appreciated getting a ticket from him,” wrote one supervisor in nominating Jesse for the award. “I was completely shocked and proud when I was named Officer of Year,” Ryman said later. “I was glad my family was there to share the moment.” Ryman first joined the department in 2006 and served for seven years before exploring an opportunity in the private sector in 2013. Two years later, Ryman returned to the agency and in 2017 he was chosen to attend Wheel School and is now one of the agency’s two motorcycle officers.
Whiteside Named CIT Officer of the Year
AWARDS
Sergeant Ken Whiteside was chosen as the Kansas CIT Officer of the Year by the Kansas chapter of the National Alliance of Mental Illness. The award was presented at the organization’s state meeting in October. K e n w a s r e c o g n i z e d f o r h i s leadership in the development and training of CIT (Crisis Intervention Team) training, his service to the Kansas Law Enforcement CIT Council Sergeant Ken Whiteside serving Johnson County and his role in starting and serving as the first p r e s i d e n t o f t h e K a n s a s C I T Safe City Awards Association. In 2018, Leawood was named second Safest City in Kansas by Safe - the CIT is a national training model for National Council for Home Safety and Security 2018; the third safest city in officers responding to calls involving Kansas by SAFEHOME and eighth on the Safewise.com’s list of the top 20 citizens with mental illness that was safest cities in Kansas. first developed in Memphis, TN, in 1988. The Kansas Law Enforcement Crisis Intervention Council was formed in 2004 as a partnership between law enforcement, the mental health system, courts, the mentally ill and their families with the g o a l o f r e d u c i n g d a n g e r o u s confrontations and reducing criminal recidivism.
LIFESAVING AWARD
Police Officer II Police Officer II Sam Day Sam Day
Police Officer III Police Officer III Coby Shields Coby Shields
2018 Lifesaving Ribbons
Police Officer IV Matt Schroeder Matt Schroeder
Police Officer III Police Officer III Jack Bond Jack Bond
Police Officer I Police Officer I Roy Owens Roy Owens
AWARDS/ PROMOTIONS
For the fifth consecutive year, the City of Leawood was proud to earn the AAA Platinum Award for Community Traffic Safety. In honor of the fifth award, this year’s plaque featured a diamond symbol as well. The award is presented annually after a review of the pedestrian and traffic safety initiatives conducted, safety improvements made and any educational programs taught during the year. Among the department’s initiatives was participating in the state-wide SAFE program to promote greater seat belt use by school aged children and hosting a child passenger safety certification course, during which the participants checked more than 200 child safety seats. Working with other city departments, nearly 1000 sidewalk trip hazards were identified and repaired.
2018 Promotions
A promotion ceremony was held June 11th after the June 8th retirement of Sgt. Mark Hackathorn. Cpl. Ken Whiteside (top center) , who joined the department in 1994, was promoted to Sergeant and Paul Day (bottom right), who started in 2006, was promoted to Corporal. Ken’s wife Ahvy pinned on her husband’s new badge (left) while Paul’s wife Ellen, a Shawnee detective and former Leawood officer, pinned on his badge. Both will be in the Patrol Division.
2018 DEPARTMENT HIGHLIGHTS Personnel Moves: •Hired 9 police officers and 1 communications officer.
Programs
Christina Farquhar, Police Officer III
•In January, KSHB-TV aired a segment on CIT (Crisis Intervention Team) programs
which featured Officer Christina Farquhar (top photo) and the relatives of a young woman in south Leawood who Officer Farquhar had helped connect with outside resources. •Animal
Control Officer Carla Lewis (middle photo) made a presentation to lawmakers at the Kansas Capitol in support of the Hot Car/ Good Samaritan bills that removed civil liability for someone breaking a window to rescue an at-risk person or pet. The law was approved and went into effect on July 1, 2018. •In
September the annual citizen’s police academy, a feature of the police department since 1993, began with a record 33 participants who are all residents.
Carla Lewis, Animal Control Officer I
2018 DEPARTMENT HIGHLIGHTS Notable Crime Related Events and other Misc. Info • On May 17th a shooting occurred after a high school graduation at the Church of
the Resurrection. Eight off duty officers were on scene as this occurred and all did an outstanding job in a chaotic scene. After an extended investigation we were able to charge the two primary offenders.
• This past summer there were multiple groups committing car burglaries and open
garage door burglaries in an unprecedented frequency in the metro area and Leawood. We were able to charge multiple suspects and our persistence in patrolling our City streets during the overnights helped with fewer break-ins than neighboring cities. In our efforts to reduce the number of incidents in the city we prioritized notifying our residents that their garage doors were open at night. Our officers contacted residents about 532 open garage doors between the dates of June 1 and August 31st. • A reduction in both injury and non-injury crashes in 2018 from 2017.
• Although there was a significant increase in reported property crimes from 2017
(21%) we had a similarly significant reduction in reported violent crimes (22%).
2018 DEPARTMENT HIGHLIGHTS Philanthropy • Leawood Police Department employees raised raised $21,423.95 through a variety
of events including the annual Law Enforcement Torch run. • 2018 was the 7th year the Leawood Police Department participated in the Police
Unity Tour. Retired Sergeant Tim Anderson , Corporal Erik Butler and Sergeant Kirt Yoder joined over 2500 LEOs and survivors in bicycling over 230 miles into the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington DC in remembrance of officers killed in the line of duty. Each member of Team Leawood raised over $2000 for the event.
2018 Law Enforcement Torch Run Team Leawood
2018 Police Unity Tour
COMMUNITY A New Copper
Fifteen years after he made his first appearance, Copper, the police department’s mascot, got a facelift in October. Officer Curtis Rice, the third person to give life to our mascot, spearheaded an effort to update Copper’s ‘uniform’, replacing the former blue over gray color scheme with the same solid blue uniform and patches that officers now wear on patrol.
Graduates Abound
April is a busy month for the city’s three DARE officers as they wrap up their lessons on drug & alcohol abuse and bullying prevention. Last month 153 students were honored in graduation ceremonies at their schools: St. Michaels had 71 graduates; Brookwood had 48 and Nativity had 34. Corinth and Cure of Ars also have DARE programs, but their graduations are scheduled in other months. Leawood DARE officers also visit Leawood, Mission Trail and Prairie Star Elementary Schools, but they don’t teach the full DARE program in these schools.
Click HERE Take the Leawood Police Citizen Survey T h e m i s s i o n o f t h e L e a w o o d P o l i c e Department is to protect the community while setting the standard for service to ensure a peaceful quality of life. In order to better determine whether we are in fact accomplishing our mission, the Leawood Police Department welcomes input from the community we serve. This survey will help us to ensure that we maintain the level of service that our public expect and deserve. Your identity will remain anonymous with only your answers being returned to the department. If you would like to be contacted, you may leave your e-mail or phone number on the last page.
NEW HIRES Building for the Future
Jeremy Roberts, Police Officer I
Carter Daniel, Police Officer I
Scott Frager, Police Officer I
Josh Davey. Police Officer I
Every organization is tasked with the challenge of recruiting qualified candidates to fill vacancies. The challenge for law enforcement agencies, including the Leawood Police Department, is that you can’t just hire someone, train them for a week and have them ready to fill a spot. Law enforcement positions start with extensive background investigations and may include months of training. In 2018, the Leawood Police Department was fortunate to find ten quality applicants to fill our open positions – 9 officers and a communications officer. Continued next page
Chantelle Schmeidler Lauren Ebberts Police Officer I Communications Officer I
The search for police officers began with 148 applicants taking the initial written test. From this group, 60 people chose to return for oral interviews in front of a board of officers. The field was further narrowed to 16 officers who were interviewed by the Chief Troy Rettig and entered the background phase. In addition to backgrounds, testing for all applicants who receive a job offer includes a physical exam and drug screen. Several positions also take polygraph examinations and go through a mental health screening. Police Officers will also need to complete a physical agility test. Eventually the majority of our new officers were hired and needed to attend the 16-week basic training at the Johnson County Regional Police Academy. Once they graduated, the new graduates – and those that made a lateral move to Leawood with prior law enforcement experience - transitioned to a 16-week on-the-job field training program, riding with a veteran officer to ‘teach them the ropes’ before they graduated to work on their own. Similarly, our Communications Officer candidates complete a multi-week training program to develop all of the skills they’ll need. Throughout the processes, new employees are given feedback and assistance by their co-workers. As every new hire hears, we are in this together and everyone is willing to assist to help make the team better. It’s our investment in the future of our agency.
NEW HIRES
Leawood City Clerk Deb Harper (left) Swearing in (from left) Cody Morse, John McLaughlin Jr. and David Chatelain.
RETIREMENTS 108 Years of Experience Lost 108 Years of Experience Lost The police department experienced the loss of more than 108 years of experience with the retirements of Officer Mike Pelger (30 years of service), Sergeant Mark Hackathorn (27 years), Communications Officer Tonja Standifer-Barron (20 years) and Detective Bill Burke (31 years of service) in 2018. Mike Pelger joined the Leawood Police Department in 1988 after two years with the Atchison, KS, Police Department. During his career Mike served in Patrol and a DARE officer before becoming the department’s first technology officer, working to train employees on the department’s computerized record management system and introducing digital body cameras and digital ticketing technology. He was recognized as the department’s Officer of the Year in 2011 and the City of Leawood’s Employee of the Year in 2017. Mark Hackathorn applied to the police department in 1991 after several years as a teacher. During his career in Leawood he served in the Patrol unit as a Field Training Officer and Evidence Technician before promoting into the supervisory ranks. He served two stints as the supervisor of the Traffic Management Unit, introducing laser speed detection and speed measuring trailers. He was also a founding members of the Honor Guard team.
Mike Pelger, Police Officer IV
Mark Hackathorn, Sergeant
RETIREMENTS
Tonja Standifer-Barron Communications Officer
Bill Burke, Detective/ Police Officer IV
Tonja Standifer-Barron applied to the Leawood Police Department after moving to the Midwest from the Los Angeles area, where she had worked in parking enforcement among other positions. She spent 20 years serving as the conduit between the public and our officers, eventually becoming a training officer for new dispatchers. Bill Burke joined the department in 1987. He worked in Patrol and the Traffic Management Unit, where he became one of the city’s first Drug Recognition Experts, specially trained to detect driver’s impaired by drugs. Bill moved to the Investigations Unit in 1999 and served with a US Postal Inspectors Service Task Force. In 2016 he was named the department’s Officer of the Year. In addition to his service to Leawood, Bill was also an Army Reservist who deployed overseas three times in nearly 20 years of service.
SNAP SHOTS
ahon stops M t r e b o R IV r Police Office onade stand by a local lem
Police Officer III Emily Craighead with some of her students
LPD’s Sergeant Ken Whiteside instructs a CIT class
Kansas Congressman Kevin Yoder (left) with LPD’s Sergeant Kirt Yoder (unrelated)
LPD’s Honor Guard at the K (from left) Sergeant Ken Whiteside, Officers Ben Slenker, Robert Mahon, Joe Peeples.
Leawood Police Department HONOR • INTEGRITY • PROFESSIONALISM
4201 Town Center Drive, Leawood, KS 66211 Emergency: 9-1-1 • Non-Emergency Dispatch: 913-642-7700 www.Leawood.org/Police