WICHITA, Kan. — Wichita police plan to ban officers from kneeling on the necks of people in handcuffs. The Wichita Eagle reports that several other proposed policy changes that protesters have called for are included in a document that police provided Thursday to the Citizen’s Review Board. Other proposed changes to the use of force policy include a duty to intervene for officers witnessing unethical behavior, a requirement to provide medical aid after deadly force is used and a general prohibition on shooting at vehicles. The document said those and other changes were added at the police chief’s request.
Author: KMAN Staff
Regular travelers of Griffith Drive will need to find an alternative starting Monday. A Safe Routes to School project installing a pedestrian crossing and refuge median for Northview elementary is planned to begin June 15th. As a result, Griffith Drive will be closed to through traffic, though local motorists will still have access. Safe Routes to School is a program that, at the state level, provides federal funding for projects improving student ability to and safety when walking or biking to school. Work is slated to be complete within 7 to 14 days, weather permitting.
Update 1:45 p.m. New information released by the Riley County Health Department links Friday’s new cases to an outbreak at Leonardville Nursing Home. The three newly reported positive COVID-19 individuals bring the active case count to 12. 59 of 71 total positive individuals have been reported recovered, 3 patients have died. Ascension Via Christi Hospital in Manhattan has 1 positive patient on a ventilator and 2 patients exhibiting symptoms awaiting test results. The 3 new positive individuals make 5 total positive COVID-19 cases tied to the retirement community. All residents and employees have been tested, officials are awaiting the results…
We closed out the week Friday talking COVID-19 with Ascension Via Christi Hospital President and CEO Bob Copple. Additionally, Jessica Wolfe, RN, Brooklyn Stoddard, CNA, and Acute Care Services Director Annette Conrow spoke about the experiences Wolfe and Stoddard had responding to COVID-19 outbreaks in other regions. Flint Hills Christian School Principal Josh Snyder discussed how the pandemic has impacted their operations, graduation plans and touched on their plans for the Fall semester. We closed the program with a pre-recorded feature with Republican Kansas 1st congressional district candidate Dr. Bill Clifford of Garden City.
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — A federal judge in the nation’s capital has denied a request from a Native American tribe in Kansas to halt further distribution of coronavirus relief funding for tribal nations. The Prairie Band of Potawatomi Nation recently sued the U.S. Treasury Department, alleging it was shortchanged in an initial distribution of $4.8 billion. The tribe argued during a hearing Thursday that the Treasury Department should have relied on tribal enrollment data, not federal data. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta says he lacks jurisdiction because Congress gave the Treasury Department discretion in how to dole out the funding. A…
A mobile food distribution is planned this afternoon on the K-State campus. The distribution was organized by HandsOn Kansas State in conjunction with Harvesters Community Food Network of Topeka in response to community need. The distribution is open to all members of the Manhattan community, no paperwork of statement of need is required. It starts at 4 p.m. in parking lot C-1 of the Chester E Peters Recreation Complex. Volunteers will be adhering to physical distancing guidelines and may ask participants to open and close their vehicle doors for volunteers to load produce. Those driving are asked to use the…
A second round of COVID-19 testing of Geary County Corrections Staff came back with no positives. Geary County Sheriff’s officials tested all correctional officers and inmates last week after multiple officers received positive tests. Currently, they’ve reported three corrections officers have tested positive and two inmates have as well. Geary County has reported a total of 29 positive tests. Riley County has seen no new positive cases since Monday. There are currently 9 active cases. 59 people have recovered, a total 71 positive tests have been reported. One person experiencing symptoms is awaiting test results and one remains ventilated at…
As anti-discrimination and police misconduct protests continue across the country, the voices of those who can speak from the perspectives of both police officers and African Americans offer a noteworthy insight on racism and injustice. Douglas Barrett, a military veteran and former police officer who is now working in Manhattan as a photographer, recently appeared on BBC World News where he spoke about his experiences as an African American and his efforts to bring certain issues to light through his photography. “When you’re behind the camera and you’re trying to make your photographs, having an understanding of where you’ve come…
WICHITA — Spirit AeroSystems says it will furlough about 900 hourly employees who work on the troubled Boeing 737 program. The Wichita Eagle reports Spirit will implement the 21-day furloughs beginning Monday through July 6. The company says the furloughs are needed because of the continued effect of COVID-19 on the airline industry and the uncertainty surrounding the return to service of the 737 Max. Spirit makes fuselages for the 737 Max, which was grounded by regulators worldwide after two crashes. Boeing is a major customer of Spirit AeroSystems.
KANSAS CITY — The Wyandotte County District Attorney’s Office has announced plans to create an independent unit to investigate accusations of excessive police force or misconduct. The Kansas City Star reports that District Attorney Mark Dupree made the announcement Wednesday, saying his office plans to add three investigators to look into complaints reported by the public. The unit that will house the investigators will be an expansion of the Conviction Integrity Unit, created in 2018. Since then, that unit has reviewed more than 60 cases of inmates claiming to have been wrongfully convicted by the office. The unit will now…