As cries of no justice, no peace and Black lives matter once again rang out in streets across the country this summer, policymakers were faced with the most intense calls yet to increase racial equity in policing.
Kansas was not immune to those discussions in the wake of the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis, Minn., police. Protests followed in Topeka, Wichita and scores of other communities, as residents again sought changes in their backyards and across the state.
Whether state legislators will consider advancing aggressive reforms favored by those activists, however, remains unclear. And some changes, like alterations to how police departments are funded, can only be pursued at the local level.
photo by: Contributed Photos
These still frame images from surveillance video at the Jayhawk Cafe around midnight Feb. 4, 2018, show an interaction between Jameson O Connor and former Lawrence police officers Brian Wonderly and Brad Williams. Both officers were accused of untruthfulness in their reports and testimony in the 2018 Lawrence Municipal Court case in which the judge found O Connor not guilty of interference with law enforcement, and a Douglas County District Court case was dismissed in 2020 after a defense attorney questioned Williams veracity.
An officer who has been accused of fracturing a skateboarder’s elbow during an arrest and of lying under oath in a separate case has resigned from the Lawrence Police Department.
Mon, 12/21/2020
LAWRENCE Fourteen KU staff members will hone their leadership skills in 2021 through participation in the university’s Aspiring Leaders program. This is the sixth cohort since the program launched in 2017.
The eight-month Aspiring Leaders program, originally designed in partnership with the Shared Service Centers leadership, provides an experiential, hands-on approach allowing participants to learn the essentials of effective leadership to lead from where they are within their organization.
The curriculum includes monthly classroom sessions as well as individual coaching, small group collaborations and independent study and reflection to sustain the learning. Underpinning the program is the belief that deep awareness of self is required to be an effective leader. Therefore, participants engage in clarifying their strengths, developing their ability to manage self, thinking critically and engaging the practice of leadership through a reflective and intentional