Rep. Davids talks civil asset forfeiture, police transparency in Overland Park visit

Rep. Sharice Davids visited the Overland Park Justice Center on Monday morning to spend some time with local law enforcement officers while the U.S. House of Representatives is on recess.

The trip included a conversation with department leadership during the regular staff meeting, a tour of the facilities and a ride along with a patrol officer.

She said this visit to the Overland Park Police Department and a recent stop at the Johnson County Regional Police Academy helped her get a better idea of what these local departments need and how the federal government’s resources can help.

“This is just a really great opportunity for me to go the next level deeper,” said Davids, a Democrat representing the Kansas Third Congressional District. “The more I know about what’s going on in the community, the better equipped I am to advocate for the right resources to come to our community.”

Civil asset forfeiture, transparency and officer mental health were discussed

• The conversation in the staff meeting, Davids said, highlighted some of the issues and successes the department has seen recently.
• Some of those challenges include staffing shortages, providing mental and physical health care for officers, and navigating state and federal discussions about possible changes to law enforcement procedures.
• In particular, there was discussion about how changes to civil asset forfeiture laws could affect the department’s budget. Under current state and federal laws, the process allows law enforcement agencies to seize and use assets connected with criminal activity to supplement their departmental budgets. Lawmakers have proposed changing the process in ways that could impact how, if at all, agencies like the Overland Park Police Department could tap into this funding.
• Chief Frank Donchez and department leadership also emphasized the push for transparency, highlighting the department’s fairly new outreach page. Donchez said such a resource is still uncommon at local law enforcement agencies around the country.

Davids rode along with a patrol officer

• Davids also spent some time on the road with Officer Tara Stevens, a member of the Honor Guard and a 10-year veteran of the city police department.
• “I imagine it’ll be one of the most informative pieces of a day like today: actually getting a sense of the geography that an officer is covering, of the variety of calls that they’re responding to,” Davids said of the ride along before she departed. “I think that when it comes to figuring out what resources it makes the most sense to push for from the federal level, getting even just this hour-and-a-half view of the day-to-day of an officer can be really informative on that.”
• Over the past year or so, Davids has helped bring national funding to some local law enforcement initiatives, including help with a grant application from the Overland Park Police Department to support a mental and behavioral health partnership with Johnson County Mental Health.
• She also helped bring federal money to Olathe first responders’ Mobile Command Unit and Mobile Integrated Health program last summer.

Davids has an Overland Park Police connection

• Davids’ mother, Crystal, served in the Overland Park Police Department after her service in the U.S. Army.
• Her mother went on to work for the U.S Postal Service.

Go deeper: Click here to see the Overland Park Police Department’s transparency webpage.