ABSTRACT
Joe McNamara tells a story about his first days on the job as the youngest police chief in America, replacing a very well-known chief who had been appointed the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation by President Nixon. It was 1973 and the country was still in turmoil about the Vietnam War and civil rights struggles. McNamara was immediately confronted with a police shooting that occurred only 6 days after he arrived in Kansas City. A young African American man was killed by a police officer, and the circumstances were suspiciously unclear. The Kansas City African American community was incensed and demanded that the new chief address the issue of police brutality. McNamara met with his command staff and presented his plan to attend the funeral to show support for the young man. All of the commanders except the one minority member of the command team insisted that he should not go. McNamara listened to their arguments, but he felt strongly that he needed to demonstrate to the community that he understood the situation and supported fair treatment of all citizens. Because he decided to attend the funeral, he faced constant opposition by his commanders and his officers for the remainder of his 3-year tenure in Kansas City.
