In search for ‘Top Cop,’ field is narrowed to three

Abby Hoover
Managing Editor

The Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners announced Monday, Dec. 5, that they have selected three finalists for the Chief of Police position after what they call an “exhaustive search and recruitment process.”

In April, Police Chief Rick Smith left the department after 34 years. Deputy Chief Joseph Mabin was sworn in as interim chief, and has served in the role since. The three finalists will participate in a Community Town Hall on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2022, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Mohart Center, 3200 Wayne Ave. The town hall meeting, which is open to the public, is the first opportunity for public engagement hosted by the board during this process.

The Board hired search firm Public Sector Search and Consulting, who has been paid $23,081.06 to date. They received submissions from 21 individuals during the six-week period that the police chief position was posted. Two of the applicants withdrew early in the process. The initial pool included 11 applicants who were women or people of color.

The board recently interviewed several candidates. Three individuals were selected to move forward to the Community Town Hall: DeShawn Beaufort, Scott Ebner and Stacey Graves. Their bios are provided by the BOPC.
Inspector DeShawn Beaufort is a 25-year veteran of the Philadelphia Police Department. Inspector Beaufort manages the Delaware Valley Intelligence Center and Fusion Center in his current role. He is the point of contact for regional partners, including other fusion centers that review threats and potential hazards. In addition, Beaufort sets the vision and deployment strategies to improve community safety across a 12-county and four-state metropolitan area.

Beaufort previously led the department’s largest patrol division, with 317,674 residents living in four patrol districts. He had oversight of more than 750 sworn personnel and 180 civilians. Beaufort also served in other managerial roles working in Internal Affairs and leading the Northwest Patrol Division. He also has experience in narcotics, neighborhood policing, robbery, and the tactical team.

Beaufort holds an M.B.A. from Holy Family University and a bachelor’s in Organizational Leadership from Eastern University. He graduated from the FBI National Academy and Northwestern University School of Police Staff and Command.

Retired Lieutenant Colonel Scott Ebner had a 27-year policing career with the New Jersey State Police serving in several executive-level roles, including Chief of Staff, Deputy Superintendent of Investigations, Director for the State of New Jersey Fusion Center, the Regional Operations Intelligence Center, and Administration Branch Commander. Other assignments include oversight for the State Police Academy, including providing instruction for members and leaders on various leadership topics.

Ebner managed the central region of the State Police’s uniformed patrol division of 575 employees serving 26 municipalities. Before leading patrol, he was the internal affairs commander and had detective assignments in the criminal investigation office.

Ebner holds a master’s degree in human resources management, training, and development and a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. In addition, he graduated from the FBI National Academy and the Executive Leaders Program sponsored by the Center for Homeland Defense and Security at the Naval Postgraduate School.

Acting Deputy Chief Stacey Graves has more than 25 years of experience serving in the Kansas City Missouri Police Department. Graves commands the Patrol Bureau and oversees all six patrol division stations and the traffic and special operations divisions. The Patrol Bureau has 918 sworn and 109 non-sworn positions. As a major, Graves managed the Shoal Creek Patrol Division with 109,213 residents and over 74.6 miles, with 78 personnel.

She led the Human Resources Division during KCPD’s pandemic response. She was the Patrol Bureau’s Executive Officer before being named the Acting Deputy Chief earlier this month. Graves has experience in Patrol, Media and Internal Affairs. Other assignments include the Target-Oriented Policing Squad (TOPS), Career Criminal Squad, the Drug Enforcement Unit, and patrol.

Graves began her career with the KCPD as a Records Clerk in 1997. Graves has an Executive Master of Business Administration from Benedictine College and earned a B.A. in Administration of Justice from the University of Missouri Kansas City.

Members of the public who can’t make the in-person event can view the event virtually at https://youtube.com/@KansasCityPolice/streams. Kansas Citians can use the following link to submit a question for the candidates https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/KCMO- POLICE-CHIEF. Contact the Board Office at (816) 234-5055, or by email at bopc@kcpd.org with questions.