Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas today called on Missouri Governor Mike Parson to convene a special session of the Missouri General Assembly to address violent crime:

“We are at a crisis point in Kansas City and we need state legislative action on several items we have previously discussed to address our problem,” wrote Mayor Lucas. “While we will continue to pursue a broad set of social services and other tools to address violent crime now and in the future, specific action from Jefferson City can help us apprehend and incarcerate murderers currently walking the streets of Kansas City and protect witnesses in our neighborhoods who are frequently scared to speak.”

Full letter text is below:

Dear Governor Parson:

I appreciate you making time to visit with me last evening. On behalf of Kansas City, I also thank you and the First Lady for your prayers for and dedicated support to the women and men of the Kansas City Police Department, particularly our wounded officers.

Since I was sworn into office eleven months ago, no issue has presented a greater challenge to my city than the epidemic of violent crime, particularly gun violence, on the streets of Kansas City. In just the past week, violent criminals shot into an apartment building, killing a four-year-old boy sleeping inside. Yesterday, two Kansas City police officers were wounded, one critically, by violent criminals. Sadly, hundreds of Kansas Citians have been shot this year and nearly one-hundred of our community members have been murdered, far outpacing any years on record.

We are at a crisis point in Kansas City and we need state legislative action on several items we have previously discussed to address our problem.

Given our challenges, I respectfully request that you call a Special Session of the Missouri General Assembly with a focus on addressing violence in our cities. I would ask that our senators and representatives vote on legislation to enhance witness protection funding in Missouri and address how we can provide more tools for law enforcement and prosecutors to interrupt conspiracies to commit murder and other violent acts, particularly offenses committed by felons using deadly weapons.

While we will continue to pursue a broad set of social services and other tools to address violent crime now and in the future, specific action from Jefferson City can help us apprehend and incarcerate murderers currently walking the streets of Kansas City and protect witnesses in our neighborhoods who are frequently scared to speak.

As we discussed, Kansas City is too fine a city and Missouri too fine a state to allow violent criminality to define our way of life. We will persevere through these challenges, but our children, our law enforcement community, and all Kansas Citians need change quickly.

I thank you for your service to our great state and look forward to being in touch.