Jackson County prosecutor candidates talk about race and crime

Authenticity check is a Star series that holds those in power accountable and shines a light on their decisions. Have a suggestion for a future story? Email our journalists at [email protected].

Comments by a man running to be Jackson County’s next prosecutor about “Black-on-Black crime” were deemed racist and “pathetic,” his two opponents said.

Stephanie Burton, John Gromowsky and Melesa Johnson are vying for the Democratic nomination. Tracey Chappell is the only Republican.

Click to change size

One of them will replace longtime Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker, who was first elected to the position in 2012.

During a debate earlier this month hosted by South Kansas City Democrats, Gromowsky, who is white, attacked Johnson’s support for a model called transformative justice, which promotes accountability beyond traditional criminal justice solutions such as prison, referencing her previous comments.

“When you talk about black-on-black crime and you say things like, ‘Our community is behaving exactly as white people want it to,’ that is transformative justice,” Gromowsky said. “As a member of the white community, I can say that we do not want black-on-black crime. It’s bad for the whole community.”

Some find the phrase “Black-on-Black crime” offensive, saying it can contribute to a harmful stereotype and lead to policing and incarceration practices that disproportionately target Black people. “This is a simplistic and emotionally charged definition of urban violence that may be problematic if applied by political commentators, politicians, and police executives,” the Harvard-National Institute of Justice report said.

Gromowski’s comments were in response to a speech Johnson gave at a community event attended by people of color.

“No one is going to save us,” Johnson, who is black, told a crowd in Swope Park shortly after announcing her candidacy. “And unfortunately we have reached a point in our community where we are doing exactly what these white people want us to do.”

In a phone interview with The Star, Johnson said she was “having a conversation with the demographic there… about what we’re doing to ourselves now is a direct extension of this country’s design… as we continue to tear each other apart, we are adding to the narrative of the people who made these decisions to push us down.” to specific parts of the city so they can concentrate poverty.”

Of the homicide victims in 2023, 73% were Black, according to data from the Kansas City Police Department. Where homicide suspects were identified, 58% were black.

Gromowski acknowledged that some of Johnson’s comments had historical justification, but said the prosecutor’s goal should be to lift everyone’s spirits.

“The notion that one part of the community wishes ill on another part of the community is a false narrative and certainly not something the next prosecutor should be talking about,” he said. “This is contrary to the office’s goals of keeping everyone safe in the community.”

“The future prosecutor should want, not only want, but reach out to leaders in all environments to build a coalition that will allow the expression of ideas, enable the exchange of information, so that the priorities of the office can be implemented and implemented.”

Johnson said the next prosecutor should be able to conduct “conversations in a culturally competent and sensitive manner and actually have credibility with the demographic that is most impacted by this issue.”

“I have a point of view and perspective that John Gromowski will never have.”

On transformative justice, Johnson has stated that she supports alternatives to imprisonment through specialist courts and that as prosecutor she will create a “court of opportunity”. People charged with nonviolent crimes who earn less than $20,000 will be eligible.

Burton, who is black, stated that Gromowski’s comments on the forum were perceived as racist, although she does not consider him a racist.

In response to comments made during the debate by both of her opponents, Burton stated that it was not about being a white or black prosecutor, but about being the Jackson County prosecutor.

She said the issue of race is “polarizing.”

She added that transformative justice is a “dangerous principle” because she believes it takes into account the person who caused harm but leaves the victim behind.