By Paul Thompson

Northeast News

March 22, 2017

Editor’s note: This story was updated on March 23

KANSAS CITY, Missouri – The tenure of Darryl Forté will conclude on May 20, 2017, as the Kansas City, Missouri Chief of Police confirmed his upcoming retirement in a Wednesday, March 22 Twitter post.

“I will be retiring from KCPD effective 5/20/17,” wrote Forté in the tweet. “I appreciate the support I have received from everyone. It has been a honor serving.”

The announcement follows a March 8 post on Chief Forté’s blog entitled ‘I’m proud of KCPD members and our city,’ in which Forte extolled the virtues of KCMO police officers and the citizens of Kansas City.

“I am proud and honored to serve such an engaged community and will continue to work together to make our city safe,” concluded Forté in the post. “Your continued support is needed and truly appreciated.”

Exactly two weeks later, Forté has announced his retirement. Late Wednesday morning, 3rd District Councilman Quinton Lucas released a statement on Facebook saying that Kansas City residents were “lucky to have” Forté as their Chief of Police.

“He would be the first to admit that Kansas City isn’t as safe as any of us would like it to be, but the Chief worked hard each day, traveled to every homicide scene, and cared about every officer in our community (and beyond) who put on the uniform,” wrote Lucas. “A native of Kansas City, he knew the community well. He remembered from his own childhood what helped make a difference in his life and the lives of his friends and neighbors.”

Just after 12:00 p.m. on March 22, fellow 3rd District Councilman Jermaine Reed weighed in on Twitter.

“Thanks @ChiefForte for being a passionate, exemplary & innovative leader and 1st African American to serve as @kcpolice Chief,” Reed Tweeted. “Congrats!”

In a follow-up statement, Reed described how he’ll remember Forté’s tenure as KCPD Chief of Police.

“Chief Forte implemented innovative strategies to address crime and advance public safety in the community,” Reed wrote. “He served the City of Kansas City with integrity and I applaud his leadership.”

Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker struck a somber tone in a Twitter post published early Wednesday afternoon.

“My heart sunk upon hearing this news,” she wrote.

KCMO Mayor Sly James issued a statement on Forté’s retirement later in the afternoon, stating his commitment to finding the best candidate in the country to take over as Kansas City’s Chief of Police. James led off his statement by referring to Forté as “a friend.”

“Chief Forte’s leadership has been very valuable to our city,” wrote James. “I have enjoyed the working relationship we’ve maintained and I will always consider him a friend.”

Sgt. Kari Thompson of the KCPD Media Unit told the Northeast News that there is no press conference or media availability currently scheduled for Chief Forté. She did, however, provide a brief statement on Forte’s impact on the department.

“He made a very positive impact on our police department and our community,” said Thompson.

At 12:30 p.m. on March 22, Kansas City, Missouri Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 99 President Brad Lemon held a press conference at which he expressed surprise about Forté’s retirement announcement. Lemon acknowledged occasional disagreements with Forté, but ultimately suggested that the Chief of Police’s legacy should be a positive one.

“I think that his strongest legacy should go down for something that he’s worked very hard for, and that’s creating a relationship between us and the community,” said Lemon. “The Chief has done a very good job of creating relationships inside the community.”

Looking to the future, Lemon indicated that the Fraternal Order of Police would be open to supporting replacement Chief of Police candidates from both internal or external sources.

“I think the FOP would just really want the best candidate possible, whether that’s from inside or out,” Lemon said.

Though Lemon noted that he hadn’t yet discussed the decision to retire with Forté, he added that in his experience, police department leaders typically have a sense for when the time is right.

“They know when it’s time to transition,” said Lemon.

East Patrol Division’s Commander, Major Jim Thomas, spoke at length about Forté’s impact during a call with the Northeast News on Thursday, March 23. Thomas described a Chief of Police that was always true to his word.

“Awesome Chief. He was my 4th Chief since I’ve been on the department, and without a doubt the best,” said Thomas.

Thomas also discussed challenges that the police department has faced during Forté’s tenure, including a recent rise in violent crimes.

“That next Chief will have to have a vision to look at other departments, see what worked and deploy those strategies here in order to address the violent crime issue we’re experiencing now,” Thomas said.

One program that Thomas would like to see continued is the Kansas City No Violence Alliance (KC NoVA). Thomas called Chief Forté a visionary for bringing KC NoVA to the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department.

“Individuals have changed their lives through NoVA and the second chances it has offered people,” said Thomas. “It’s a totally different way of policing and Chief Forté brought that to this department.”

Forté was a 1980 graduate of Ruskin High School in the Hickman Mills school district. He began his tenure as KCPD’s 44th Chief of Police on October 12, 2011, and has been with the department since August of 1985. According to his official bio on the kcmo.gov website, Forté worked in patrol, investigations, human resources, and budgeting positions before taking over as Chief of Police.