Kansas
‘A breaking point’ Kansas City Activists reflect on five years after George Floyd protests
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – It has been five years since the killing of George Floyd, a moment that ignited nationwide protests and renewed demands for racial justice and police reform. In Kansas City, some protestors feel their calls for justice remain unanswered.
At Mill Creek Park on the Country Club Plaza, where demonstrations erupted in May 2020, community members gathered to reflect on the progress made and the work that remains.
Demonstrators recall scenes of chaos that unfolded during the protests. People recall shielding their eyes from tear gas, seeing water bottles thrown, and people getting trampled in the crowd.
“That situation that day, man, it changed the look of America,” said Pat Clarke, a longtime community outreach advocate who was on the ground trying to de-escalate tensions.
Eric Morrison, senior pastor at Kingdom Word Ministries, said what he witnessed shows how cries for racial justice in the wake of George Floyd’s death reached a tipping point in Kansas City.
“When you see something like that happen to a person, and knowing this country’s history, you recognize a breaking point,” Morrison said. “As a 62-year-old Black man, it’s the repetitiveness of it. If I’ve seen it once, I’ve seen it again.”
Now, five years later, questions remain whether the city has truly seen progress.
Despite the passage of time, many activists say their calls for justice remain unanswered.
“It still hasn’t changed for me,” said Morrison, “until we see policies being implemented, when we see police officers that have been in these places abusing people white, black or whatever, and they’re still on the force, and they’re being suspended with pay… until that goes away, until they are literally charged with a crime, then it’s there and it’ll be there,” he said.
Since 2020, city leaders say some reforms have been made. Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas pointed to new transparency efforts, including more opportunities for public comment during Board of Police Commissioners meetings and shifting officer-involved shooting investigations to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
“Often, rioting is the voice of the unheard,” Lucas said. “A lot of people felt unheard in the system and the process. Hopefully, after all these years, people feel more heard.”
According to a KCPD spokesperson, 2020 also marked the rollout of body cameras for officers and updated use-of-force training. Chief Graves implemented ICAT training for our law enforcement members, which stands for Integrating Communications, Assessment, and Tactics. KCPD describes it as an ‘innovative and evidence-based approach’ to use-of-force training.
Clarke said it’s hard to tell where change is headed.
“I’d say it’s changing,” he said. “But in what direction? I can’t tell you.”
He has had ongoing conversations with local police about what police reform could look like, even proposing the idea of sensitivity training.
“There’s a lot of officers who come in that’s never dealt with a community like this before,” said Clarke, “They didn’t grow up in one.”
Activists say the next step forward must involve community unity and legislative action.
“Things have to change in that way because behind the blue wall is freedom.”
Meanwhile, city leaders say the work for justice continues.
“It’s making sure that when we talk about Black people — in Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas, and America — that we’re actually standing up for victims in more situations,” said Mayor Quinton Lucas. “On the accountability side, including with policing and the city more broadly, it is making sure that we’re not only paying high legal settlements — which we do — but also making sure that we’re finding ways to not be in those settlements at all. That we’re doing the training necessary to not get in those situations.”
Copyright 2025 KCTV. All rights reserved.
Cooler temperatures today, but we will keep a chance of thunderstorms going in south-central Kansas this morning. One or two could be strong.
Temperatures stay cooler in southern Kansas thanks to clouds and rain in the area. Warmer temps and sunshine to the north.
Another chance of severe weather will visit Kansas this weekend, with a complex of strong storms rolling across the area Saturday night.
KSN Storm Track 3 Forecast from Meteorologist Jack Maney:
Wichita:
Today: Mostly cloudy. 60% chance of showers and storms. Hi: 80 Wind: NE 8-18
Tonight: Mostly to partly cloudy. 10% chance of showers. Lo: 62 Wind: NE/E 5-15
Tomorrow: Partly cloudy. 20% chance of showers and storms. Hi: 85 Wind: E/SE 5-15
Tomorrow Night: Partly to mostly cloudy. 30% chance of showers and storms. Lo: 68 Wind: SE 5-15
Wichita Weekly
Sat: Hi: 87 Lo: 73 Partly to mostly cloudy. 50% chance of showers and storms.
Sun: Hi: 92 Lo: 67 Mostly cloudy. 30% chance of showers and storms.
Mon: Hi: 82 Lo: 65 Partly cloudy. 10% chance of showers and storms.
Tue: Hi: 84 Lo: 66 Partly cloudy. 10% chance of showers and storms.
Wed: Hi: 86 Lo: 68 Partly cloudy. 20% chance of showers and storms.
Thu: Hi: 88 Lo: 69 Partly cloudy. 10% chance of showers and storms.
SOUTHWEST: Dodge City, Garden City, Liberal, Greensburg, Guymon
Southwest:
Today: Partly to mostly cloudy. 20% chance of showers and storms. Hi: 84 Wind: NE/E 10-25
Tonight: Mostly to partly cloudy. Lo: 58 Wind: E/SE 5-15
Tomorrow: Partly cloudy. 20% chance of showers and storms. Hi: 85 Wind: SE 8-18
Tomorrow Night: Partly to mostly cloudy. 30% chance of showers and storms. Lo: 62 Wind: SE 5-15
Southwest Weekly
Sat: Hi: 92 Lo: 66 Mostly cloudy. 40% chance of showers and storms.
Sun: Hi: 91 Lo: 59 Mostly cloudy. 20% chance of showers and storms.
Mon: Hi: 82 Lo: 58 Mostly cloudy. 30% chance of showers and storms.
Tue: Hi: 83 Lo: 60 Mostly to partly cloudy. 30% chance of showers and storms.
Wed: Hi: 85 Lo: 61 Partly cloudy. 20% chance of showers and storms.
Thu: Hi: 89 Lo: 62 Partly cloudy. 10% chance of showers and storms.
NORTHWEST: Colby, Goodland, Hill City, Oberlin, McCook
Northwest:
Today: Partly cloudy to mostly sunny. Hi: 86 Wind: NE/E 5-15
Tonight: Mostly clear to partly cloudy. Lo: 61 Wind: E/S 5-15
Tomorrow: Partly cloudy. 20% chance of showers and storms. Hi: 86 Wind: S/SE 8-18
Tomorrow Night: Partly cloudy. 20% chance of showers and storms. Lo: 61 Wind: SE 5-15
Northwest Weekly
Sat: Hi: 90 Lo: 61 Partly to mostly cloudy. 50% chance of showers and storms.
Sun: Hi: 84 Lo: 55 Mostly cloudy. 20% chance of showers and storms.
Mon: Hi: 78 Lo: 56 Mostly to partly cloudy. 30% chance of showers and storms.
Tue: Hi: 82 Lo: 58 Partly cloudy. 30% chance of showers and storms.
Wed: Hi: 85 Lo: 59 Partly cloudy. 20% chance of showers and storms.
Thu: Hi: 87 Lo: 60 Partly cloudy. 10% chance of showers and storms.
NORTHCENTRAL: Salina, Great Bend, Hays, Russell, Beloit, Osborne
North Central:
Today: Mostly to partly cloudy. 10% chance of showers and storms. Hi: 83 Wind: NE 8-18
Tonight: Partly cloudy. Lo: 60 Wind: NE/SE 5-15
Tomorrow: Partly cloudy. 20% chance of showers and storms. Hi: 86 Wind: SE 8-18
Tomorrow Night: Partly to mostly cloudy. 30% chance of showers and storms. Lo: 66 Wind: SE 5-15
North Central Weekly
Sat: Hi: 88 Lo: 70 Partly to mostly cloudy. 70% chance of showers and storms.
Sun: Hi: 88 Lo: 63 Mostly cloudy. 30% chance of showers and storms.
Mon: Hi: 81 Lo: 62 Mostly to partly cloudy. 10% chance of showers and storms.
Tue: Hi: 84 Lo: 64 Partly cloudy. 20% chance of showers and storms.
Wed: Hi: 86 Lo: 66 Partly cloudy. 20% chance of showers and storms.
Thu: Hi: 88 Lo: 67 Partly cloudy. 10% chance of showers and storms.
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — A Kansas fire department is asking people to be more careful about what they throw away.
The Mulvane Fire Department was called to a vehicle fire Wednesday afternoon. The driver of a trash truck had smelled something burning and pulled over to call 911.
When firefighters arrived, they found smoke coming from the back of the truck. In the trash bay, a firefighter discovered a discarded laptop computer with a lithium battery that was heating up.
The department said it was able to remove the battery from the truck and flood the truck with water to cool off the trash. This is the second incident involving a lithium battery crews have responded to this month, according to Mulvane Fire.
Lithium is highly reactive, and when batteries are damaged, they can heat up uncontrollably. The reaction cascades, with the battery getting hotter and hotter until all of the lithium is consumed. In some cases, when exposed to oxygen, lithium can ignite instantly.
The fire department is urging residents to never throw computers or anything with batteries in the trash. Sedgwick County offers this free recycling guide with information on how to properly dispose of a wide variety of household goods and chemicals.
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – A power outage is affecting parts of the Kansas City Zoo & Aquarium, leaving some areas and services temporarily limited.
The Zoo announced the outage on Wednesday morning, June 17, saying the webstore and other services may be unavailable while crews work to restore power.
Evergy’s outage map shows the disruption – located near the zoo – is affecting 17 customers. The outage was first reported just before 8:50 a.m. Power is expected to be restored around 10:30 a.m.
The Zoo is asking for the public’s patience as Evergy works to resolve the issue.
The cause of the outage has not yet been identified.
Copyright 2026 KCTV. All rights reserved.
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