Topeka police chief Bill Cochran said the department would handle the aftermath of a police shooting differently compared to nearly a year ago when Dominique White was killed.
White, 30, was shot Sept. 28, 2017, by officers Michael Cruse and Justin Mackey.
“Dominique White’s shooting did more to transform law enforcement in the city of Topeka and the state of Kansas than probably any other incident in a long, long time,” Cochran said.
The investigation was handed over to the Lawrence Police Department the day of the incident.
Cochran said the department didn’t know the status of the case as LPD investigated, but that in the future they would like to have some contact with the investigating agency so they can provide answers to Topekans. “I don’t think the public liked hearing, ‘Well, Lawrence has it and we don’t have any idea what’s going on,’” he said. The department is in discussions with other eastern Kansas law enforcement agencies and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation on handling police shootings so they are more “fluid.” One proposal is to have a team that can mobilize to investigate such incidents similar to the group Johnson County law enforcement agencies formed.
“We hope another situation like this never happens, but if something happens in the future, we want to be in a better position to be more responsive and accessible to the public,” Cochran said.
(Read more: Local – The Topeka Capital-Journal)