Kansas City Couple Shares Frustration After Car Theft and 911 Delay
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Car thefts continue to plague Kansas City, with 2024 mirroring the rising trend of previous years. Mitch Smedley and his wife recently became victims of this ongoing issue.
The couple’s ordeal began earlier this month during a date night in Downtown Kansas City. “We went out there to enjoy date night and went to get in our car and go home, but our car was gone,” Smedley recalled.
After verifying their car hadn’t been towed, the Smedleys reported the theft to the Kansas City Police Department (KCPD). A little over a week later, Mitch spotted his stolen Jeep on the road.
“I’m going to speed up and see if, by chance, it’s yours. And sure enough, I speed up. And it was her Jeep,” he explained. He located the vehicle near I-70 and Van Brunt Blvd.
Upon calling 911, Smedley faced a significant wait before someone answered. His frustration mounted when the call taker requested the case number while he was actively pursuing his stolen car. “She’s like, ‘No, we need to have the case number before we can even send a police officer your direction.’ I’m like, ‘Ma’am, I’m actively chasing my stolen car right now, and I’m on the phone with you and you want me to dig through my phone and find the case number,’” Smedley said.
The call taker insisted on the case number. Smedley continued, “She goes, ‘If you want anything done on this phone call, you’re going to have to have the case number.’” By the time he had located the number, the stolen car and its occupants had vanished. “So they took off and turned and I never saw them after that. I was kind of frustrated. I’m like, we could have gotten the officers in the area and hashed out all these other details later,” Smedley stated.
FOX4 reached out to KCPD Sgt. Phil DiMartino for comment on the proper protocol for reporting such a situation to 911. “Generally, when you file a (stolen car) report, you’ll be given a form with some basics, including the case support number and the officer who took the report. It’s never a bad idea to keep that handy just in case this moment happens,” DiMartino said.
He acknowledged the frustration victims face when they see their stolen vehicle and want immediate assistance. “It’s frustrating at that moment because you see your car and want help right now, understandably so. Stay on the line with the call taker. You can say, ‘Hey, I don’t have that information right now; here is my name. I filed a report at this time.’ The most important information to get out to the call takers is the location of the vehicle,” DiMartino explained.
A follow-up call to KCPD’s theft division after the 911 call yielded no callback, according to Smedley. He expressed his disappointment, stating, “It’s like, wow, they really have no interest in stopping vehicle thefts. I can understand it’s kind of hard to stop them before they happen, but with adequate prosecution to the fullest extent of the law, then, a couple of guys end up watching their buddies go to jail for ten or 15 years for stealing cars, and all of a sudden people are going to quit stealing cars.”
Smedley advocates for several changes to the current process, including quicker 911 response times and a streamlined procedure for reporting a stolen car sighting. “For one, if you call 911, you shouldn’t be put on hold for as long as I was,” Smedley said. “But then to stop the progress of everything by saying I need a case number before I can do anything seems pretty arbitrary.”
Sgt. DiMartino emphasized the paramount importance of safety if a stolen car is located. “One of the first things you should do is call 911. Recovering your own stolen vehicle is not something that we recommend or advise,” DiMartino stated. He added, “While I understand that is someone’s stolen vehicle, that’s their property. That could be their way to make a living, how you get the kids to and from and it’s important to that person. But I want to remind people that no piece of property, no vehicle, is worth a physical confrontation if things escalate.”
DiMartino offered additional advice for car theft victims. “Be a good witness. Yes, it is your vehicle, and you know what it looks like, but there may be little things about that car; a bumper sticker, a crack in this windshield, anything that helps us identify the car is super valuable for our patrol officers who actively patrol and look for stolen vehicles every day,” DiMartino advised.
