KSHB 41 reporter Alyssa Jackson covers Kansas City, Missouri. Share your story idea with Alyssa.
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Heading into the new year, the Independence Police Department led a fatal high-speed chase that ended in Kansas City, Missouri.
KSHB 41 News learned on Thursday via email that Interim Police Chief Douglas Brinkley has been working on internal changes to the department since joining in September 2025.
According to a spokesperson for the City of Independence, the interim chief has been working on a comprehensive action plan involving a variety of issues at the department.
The city shared that Brinkley created committees from a pool of employees to address identified risks, including the department's chase policy.
After the police department was questioned by news outlets, including KSHB 41, about its chase policy, it posted Brinkley's efforts to the city website on Thursday.
Fatal pursuit
The Independence City Council's first meeting of the new year began with expressed concern about the police department's vehicle pursuit policy.
On the night of New Year's Eve, police chased a man in a stolen truck from Independence to East Ninth St. and Benton Blvd. in Kansas City.
Police confirmed the suspect, who remains on the run, crashed into several vehicles. The suspect, driving a Ford F-250, killed a driver and injured three other people.
Hundreds of pursuits happen often by the department.
Data released in an internal review tracked the department's vehicle pursuits from 2015 to 2023.
The highest year had 540 chases in 2023.
The lowest year, during the pandemic in 2021, had 202 chases.
KSHB 41 requested data Thursday afternoon from 2024 to 2025. We are waiting to receive the information.
For comparison, KSHB 41 Reporter Alyssa Jackson also requested KCPD's numbers.
Readily available data showed the department had 324 police pursuits between 2023 and 2025.
Data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows Kansas City has a population of roughly 516,000. The city of Independence has a population of roughly 121,000.
Independent audit finds flaws in pursuit policy
Jason White was an at-large council member for the City of Independence from 2002 to 2006.
He told council members during public comment on Monday, "For whatever reason, we’ve allowed this situation to go on too long."
White was referencing the department's chase policy.
IPD's vehicle pursuit policy allows officers discretion to engage in a vehicle pursuit with consideration of safety, adding that officers should terminate pursuits when the risk of a chase outweighs possible charges.
The former councilman has seen many pursuits by IPD up close—one chase ended in his backyard.
In 2024, the practices got the attention of current council member Bridget McCandless. She requested a review of the policy.
The review was done internally, and former Police Chief Adam Dustman stood by the department's policies.
Former Councilman White referenced data that was released in an independent audit by the Legal and Liability Risk Management Institute last year. The audit hasn't been shared with the public.
"We’re chasing people at 112/130 mph through a community over a misdemeanor," White said.
KSHB 41 Reporter Alyssa Jackson obtained the 2025 audit through an open records request.
The institute reviewed ten chases at random that occurred over a span of 11 days, meaning an average of one chase each day. Most speeds exceeded 100 MPH.
Chases were initiated for offenses, including a stolen car, registration tag violations, and speeding.
The reason for other pursuits included an inoperable license plate light, a tail light out, an improper turn, and squealing tires. A driver with squealing tires led IPD on a 130 MPH chase.
The audit determined:
- IPD Patrol Officers are clearly well-trained and very disciplined in alerting the dispatcher immediately upon initiating a motor vehicle pursuit, as well as in broadcasting the requisite pursuit information (description, reason, direction of travel, traffic, etc.).
- IPD Patrol Officers are calm when broadcasting over the radio and are quite adept at maintaining control of their vehicles when broadcasting while pursuing fleeing vehicles.
- Except for a single occasion, we did not observe any violations of the section of the pursuit policy regarding the limit on primary and secondary vehicles only participating in the pursuit.
- Several of the pursuits we reviewed were initiated as the result of “minor” traffic violations, yet continued for several minutes, with some ultimately reaching maximum speeds over 100 MPH.
- Some of the pursuits were conducted in residential areas, some of which were tree-lined, two-lane roads without any marked double-yellow line. Some of the speeds reached in these residential areas appeared, at least according to the video, not to be in the best interest of public safety.
- More than one pursuit in which the officer continued to pursue the suspect after they had crossed over into the oncoming lanes of travel.
- Several pursuit videos showed officers following suspect vehicles through intersections controlled by traffic signals, against red traffic signals, with some traffic present, at high rates of speed.
Former Councilman White noted in his call for change and accountability that Independence is without a city manager and permanent police chief, and the former leadership could have changed this already.
"They’re [officers] doing what we expect of them," White said. "This is not a police officer problem. This is a city council problem."
White believes city council members need to push for changes to IPD's pursuit policy.
IPD told KSHB 41 this is a priority, but it isn't a quick process. The plan will be a phased approach.
The interim chief declined to hold interviews until recommendations are presented to the public and the city council.
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