The Kansas City Star by DAWN BORMANN and JOE LAMBE - January 5, 2011
Four police officers in Kansas City, Kan., were arrested in an ongoing police corruption case, Police Chief Rick Armstrong said tonight. The members of the department’s swat team are now free on unpaid administrative leave while the investigation continues, he said in a press conference. He started the investigation last year after a citizen complaint and called in help from the FBI, the U.S. Attorney and the Wyandotte County prosecutor, he said. The officers were arrested and questioned Tuesday after a sting operation that followed their work on serving what they thought was a warrant. It is not unusual for the FBI to use video cameras and set up sting operations in such cases, experts said. The case is an anomaly that does not reflect the operation and values of his department, Armstrong said. “I think we’re all sick,” he said. “I think we’re embarrassed.” Wyandotte County’s Unified Government Mayor Joe Reardon said this afternoon that any allegations of police misconduct were troubling. “As mayor, I expect the utmost integrity and professionalism from our police officers. So do our citizens. Acts of misconduct should not and will not be tolerated,” Reardon said. Reardon said the police chief launched the investigation at the first sign of a problem. He stood behind the police chief and the investigation. “As mayor my expectation is that we continue to have a police department that is responsible to its citizens and fights crime with the utmost integrity,” he said. “We have achieved great results in fighting crime. The is best way to support our community and the hundreds of good police officers that serve each day is to aggressively pursue this investigation.”
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