The police chief of Kansas City, Mo., has decided not to attend a Republican Party event where he was to be honored after criticism from the city’s mayor.
The Kansas City Star reported that Rick Smith said in an announcement on Thursday that his attendance would be a “distraction.”
The Jackson County Republican Committee had planned to feature Smith as its guest of honor at the event, where Mark and Patricia McCloskey were also scheduled to be featured. The couple went viral after standing outside of their house appearing to threaten Black Lives Matter protesters with guns. The McCloskeys became Republican icons after their photos went viral, even speaking virtually at the Republican National Convention, while becoming a target of derision on the left.
“I was invited, on behalf of the police department, to be recognized for its hard work during the summer of 2020,” Smith said, according to the Star, referring to the protests in the city following the deaths of George Floyd and other Black Americans at the hands of police across the country.
“It is becoming apparent that my attendance at the event would be a distraction. After careful consideration, I will respectfully decline the invitation to this event,” he continued.
His withdrawal comes after the city’s Democratic mayor, Quinton Lucas, called out “apolitical appointees” on Twitter and urged them to not politicize their positions.
“Never in Kansas City have I seen our apolitical appointees—be it a police chief, city manager, or fire chief—engage as featured guests/speakers in partisan political events or causes. The reasons not to do so are numerous and apparent. I would hope this does not change,” the mayor tweeted.
“Particularly now when enhancing community trust is a primary goal for police departments across the country, I’d encourage ours and its leadership to retain its objectivity and independence to the fullest extent. There are uniformed political actors in unions who can substitute,” he continued.