美国国家公共电台 NPR--Kansas City fights the state of Missouri for control of its police department

Kansas City fights the state of Missouri for control of its police department

Transcript¹

Many cities argue over "defunding the police." In Kansas City, Mo., they are debating whether the city — or the state — should manage the law enforcement budget.

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Defunding the police - it's become one of those phrases that politicians and activists² throw around at each other. But in Kansas City, Mo., they're debating something else - whether the city or the state gets to manage the law enforcement budget. Celisa Calacal from KCUR has this report.

CELISA CALACAL, BYLINE³: In recent years, the battle over police control often centers around a controversial shooting. That was the case in April, when the Kansas City Police did not immediately arrest a white homeowner who shot and wounded a Black teenager who was at the wrong house when he rang the homeowner's doorbell. Kansas City Councilwoman Melissa Robinson was one of many protesting the police's inaction during a rally.

MELISSA ROBINSON: We need to activate⁴ local control, and we need to activate it now.

CALACAL: Unlike any other major city in the country, policing in Kansas City falls under the authority of the state. It's a system that dates back to the Civil War, although Kansas City did have local control of the police department for a brief period in the 1930s. Ken⁵ Novak, a professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, says ever since the police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., there's been a more urgent push for local control.

KEN NOVAK: The events in Ferguson, and I think the events surrounding George Floyd, has changed that narrative⁶ and changed the conversation. And more people who were, frankly⁷, ambivalent⁸ to how police are governed locally suddenly began to look and care a little bit more than we had seen in previous decades.

CALACAL: Missouri's Board of Police Commissioners⁹ can set department policy, hire a new police chief and control the budget. The governor appoints four members. The fifth is the Kansas City mayor. And the city's current mayor, Quinton Lucas, is an outspoken¹⁰ critic of state control.

QUINTON LUCAS: It is putting us in a plantation¹¹ mentality¹², fundamentally, where we're saying someone else somewhere can run all the decisions for us, and we're just here to work and fund them.

MARTIN: And funding is a key issue. Last year, Missouri lawmakers passed a bill forcing Kansas City to increase minimum funding of its police departments from 20 to 25% of its general revenue. Republican state lawmaker Tony Luetkemeyer was the bill's sponsor.

TONY LUETKEMEYER: So this is merely giving the predictability and stability to the police department so they can continue doing their jobs to keep Kansas Citians safe.

CALACAL: A majority of Missouri voters, except those in Kansas City, approved legislation which paved the way for the largest budget allocation for the Kansas City Police Department in five years. Mayor Lucas called that wrong and subsequently filed a lawsuit¹³ challenging state control.

LUCAS: Why is it that 508,000 Kansas Citians should have fewer rights than the other 6 million people in Missouri?

CALACAL: Gwen Grant, CEO of the Kansas City Urban League, also filed a lawsuit challenging state control.

GWEN GRANT: This form of governing is archaic¹⁴. We should be in control of our police department, especially considering the fact that we fund it.

CALACAL: The battle over who should control the Kansas City Police - the state of Missouri or the city itself - could take years. If lawsuits¹⁵ don't work, Kansas City leaders say they could pursue the same steps as St. Louis. The state's other big city used a ballot¹⁶ initiative to win back control of its police department in 2012.

For NPR News, I'm Celisa Calacal in Kansas City.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 activate   

vt.使活动起来，使开始起作用

参考例句：

• We must activate the youth to study.我们要激励青年去学习。
• These push buttons can activate the elevator.这些按钮能启动电梯。

5 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

6 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

7 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

8 ambivalent   

adj.含糊不定的；(态度等)矛盾的

参考例句：

• She remained ambivalent about her marriage.她对于自己的婚事仍然拿不定主意。
• Although she professed fear of the Russians,she seemed to have ambivalent feelings toward Philby himself.虽然她承认害怕俄国人，然而她似乎对菲尔比本人有一种矛盾的感情。

9 commissioners   

n.专员( commissioner的名词复数 )；长官；委员；政府部门的长官

参考例句：

• The Commissioners of Inland Revenue control British national taxes. 国家税收委员管理英国全国的税收。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The SEC has five commissioners who are appointed by the president. 证券交易委员会有５名委员，是由总统任命的。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

10 outspoken   

adj.直言无讳的，坦率的，坦白无隐的

参考例句：

• He was outspoken in his criticism.他在批评中直言不讳。
• She is an outspoken critic of the school system in this city.她是这座城市里学校制度的坦率的批评者。

11 plantation   

n.种植园，大农场

参考例句：

• His father-in-law is a plantation manager.他岳父是个种植园经营者。
• The plantation owner has possessed himself of a vast piece of land.这个种植园主把大片土地占为己有。

12 mentality   

n.心理，思想，脑力

参考例句：

• He has many years'experience of the criminal mentality.他研究犯罪心理有多年经验。
• Running a business requires a very different mentality from being a salaried employee.经营企业所要求具备的心态和上班族的心态截然不同。

13 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

14 archaic   

adj.(语言、词汇等)古代的，已不通用的

参考例句：

• The company does some things in archaic ways,such as not using computers for bookkeeping.这个公司有些做法陈旧，如记账不使用电脑。
• Shaanxi is one of the Chinese archaic civilized origins which has a long history.陕西省是中国古代文明发祥之一，有悠久的历史。

15 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

16 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。