New KCK police chief wants to establish cold case division

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — The new police chief in Kansas City, Kansas, wants to solve some old cases.

The Kansas City Star reports that newly sworn-in chief Karl Oakman hopes to create a cold case unit sometime in 2022. Oakman said in a statement Tuesday that the new division will be established “once staffing allows.”

Oakman served as deputy chief in Kansas City, Missouri, before being sworn in as the new chief across the state line earlier this month.

Oakman’s statement came on the same day a social justice group called Justice for Wyandotte urged creation of the unit during a rally near the Wyandotte County Courthouse. Some at the rally held signs with the names of victims whose killings have remained unsolved for years.