Northeast News
December 10, 2014

The push is on ladies and gentlemen. The push is on to name the much maligned new East Patrol Division Station and Crime Lab Campus after assassinated Kansas City Civil Rights leader Leon Jordan.

The sponsors of this mess of an ordinance are Third District Council folks Melba Curls and Jermaine Reed. Both say they’ve run this up the flagpole in the community on a number of occasions. Really? This big ear’d news-dog hasn’t seen or heard anything north of Truman Road, which tells you where they’ve allegedly done their test hops. Never mind the precedent this sets as no other PD facility in Kansas City is named after anyone. The whole Leon Jordan history is fraught with questionable dealings with North End organized crime figures that ultimately led to his gangland style killing at 27th and Prospect some 40 plus years ago.

This newsdog has a novel idea that makes a load of sense, which means it won’t ever see the light of day. How bout we move Center Patrol out of their decrepit quarters at Linwood and Troost and relocate them into the new East Patrol building currently under construction. Then, build a new East Patrol building somewhere that makes perfect sense – like in East Patrol. This pooch thinks the Blue Valley Park would be an excellent location or maybe something along the Blue River, 40 Highway corridor. Easy freeway access, centrally located in the heart of the East Patrol zone and a beacon of good will to the city’s long neglected Eastside neighborhood.

Then again, the decision to locate the new East Patrol station a half mile from Center Patrol was a political decision from the word go and has been fraught with cost over-runs and lawsuits challenging the city’s eminent domain claims when acquiring real estate for the project. If you’re of like mind with this newsdog, make a call to the council offices of Curls and Reed. Tell em that “Jordan’s folly” is a bad idea and suggest they abandon the idea of naming police facilities.