Kansas City Star Already Heaping Praise Upon New Jackson County Prosecutor

To be fair . . .

The latest moves from the prosecutor's office aren't bad . . .

In fact . . . 

We've noticed that KCMO needs more domestic violence prosecutions. And NOBODY has any sympathy for drug dealers.  

Still . . . 

This column from the local Pulitzer winner isn't about law enforcement . . . It's mostly political tribute.

Take a peek . . .

Our new Jackson County prosecutor, Melesa Johnson, who was only sworn in on Jan. 3, announced a couple of major changes at the monthly meeting of the board of police commissioners.

In her previous job as the city’s director of public safety, Johnson said, she’d seen for herself that “too many domestic violence cases are handled at the municipal level and not at the felony level,” where cases involving strangulation and other serious injuries belong.

So effective immediately, she told the KCPD, “those cases should be submitted at the felony level.”

This is lifesaving news for victims, and will make our city safer for everyone, since domestic abusers tend to commit other violent crimes as well.

Also starting now, Johnson said, “all drug distribution cases should be worked up and submitted to my office for charging. That’s a slight deviation from my predecessor’s policies,” she told KCPD Chief Stacey Graves and others at the meeting, “so I want to make abundantly clear that whether there’s a nexus to violence

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

'Transformational': KC strangulation cases will no longer be mere ordinance violations | Opinion

In a lifesaving shift, new Jackson County prosecutor Melesa Johnson tells police to stop referring serious domestic violence cases to municipal court. From Melinda Henneberger