From the original cutline that ran March 12, 1970: "A private guard, armed and in uniform, patrols the parking lot of a downtown business building at night. He is there as a deterrent to car prowlers seeking to steal or potential muggers or rapists. The dramatic rise in crime in recent years has seen a corresponding rise in the private security business. -- (Kansas City Star photograph by William E. Humphrey.)"
From the original cutline, May 14, 1967: Victims of a robbery of the A&P food store at 3113 Main street yesterday described to Hugh Butler, a patrolman, the actions of the four armed and masked men who robbed the store.
From the original April 13, 1969 cutline: The "joy ride" is over for these two youths as Patrolmen Garrett Smith and Terry Rogers (holding shotgun) arrest them for investigation of car theft. The first three months this year more than 1,500 stolen cars were reported to police. (Kansas City Star photograph by Ray Corey.)
You need to click on the larger image to get the full benefit. I really like how they've got a shotgun trained on these nefarious-looking preppies.
From the original cutline: A detective takes fingerprints from a safe pried open Tuesday night at the Blankinship Distributors, 1900 Vine Street. G. Lawrence Blankinship, third district councilman, owner of the wholesale drug and sundries distributing firm, said money from the safe plus a large amount of supplies were taken by the burglars. Det. Carl Haltman said the men entered by knocking a large hole in the rear of the building.
From 1979. "Two vice officers with the Kansas City Police Department hurry to make an arrest for soliciting during their decoy operation Friday night at 11th and Baltimore. The woman at left is a policewoman." (Note: you can only see the woman and the suspect in the full-size version. Click here. )
From February 1973, by photographer David Hutson. "Several members of the Kansas City Police Department stand by for instructions before proceeding with their part of the shakedown yesterday at the Jackson County jail. Officers carried gas canisters and masks for use in the event the prisoners rebelled."
This week: Kansas City SWAT. (Or tactical response, or special response. I keep forgetting the correct terminology.) I was browsing through the old files and found an entire manila envelope full of awesome. Above and below, local officers train at Fort Riley. These images are from 1976. To see larger versions, click here and here.
Seriously, click the larger version for this one. So awesome.
An image from 1980, a real-life situation. From the original cutline: "Officers from the Kansas City Police Department's tactical support unit watch the front door of a house at 210 N. Mersington during four hours of surveillance Sunday. The operation ended with the recovery of a high-powered rifle and a car registered to a suspect in the slaying of five persons May 29, but no one was arrested." Full image here.
This one's from 1979. Cutline: Two policemen helped conduct an Operation 100 in an incident in 1979 near Independence and Lawndale." Full image here.
This week: The Union Station Massacre. Five people -- a federal agent, two Kansas City police detectives, a police chief from Oklahoma and escaped convict Frank Nash -- were killed outside the train station on June 17, 1933. The shooting helped J. Edgar Hoover acquire more support and increased funding for what would become the modern FBI. Journalist Robert Unger had a book in 1997 that uncovered a lot of hidden history about how the case was handled.
A scan of the Star's front-page the day after the incident. (These are big files and a little rough, too. Top part of the page. Bottom part of the page.)
Above: A photo taken shortly after the shooting.
Below: A closeup of one of the vehicles involved in the shooting.
