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Resident tells council she believes police mishandled July 4 hit-and-run; requests further review
Summary
A resident told the council that officers did not properly cite a hit-and-run driver after paint transfer was visible, and said subsequent police paperwork and communications were inconsistent. She asked the council for investigation and clearer accountability.
A Kennett resident told the council she is unsatisfied with the police department's handling of a July 4 hit-and-run that damaged her niece's car and asked the council to review actions taken by officers.
"I'm Louetta Napoleon," the resident said. She told the council her niece was sideswiped while sitting in her car on Jackson Street and that, after following the other vehicle, the niece and family members met the other driver and police at the station. The resident said two officers, Officer Perkins and Officer Hunter, inspected the vehicles and observed paint transfer from a white vehicle to a navy blue vehicle.
The resident said Officer Hunter asked the hit-and-run driver for the documents Missouri law requires and was told the driver had none. "They had nothing," she said. She told the council an officer said, "I'll come by your house and get it from you later," and that the driver left the scene. She said she later learned the department issued a citation for driving without a license and without insurance on July 6, and that her niece's insurer told her the vehicle was uninsured on July 4 and she was placed on uninsured motor coverage.
The resident said she received an estimate for repairs of $4,487.43 from Higgins Auto and took issue with what she described as inconsistencies between what officers told her at the scene and how the police report was later written. "They said nothing in the police report about paint transfer," she told the council, and she asked why the on-scene observations did not appear in the report.
She said she raised the matter with the chief of police, Chief Wilson, and with the city administrator; she said the administrator prepared a written report but had spelled her name incorrectly. The resident asked the council whether its members or the city attorney could explain why council members cannot directly answer residents' questions during a meeting; she said she was told by officials that the chief is the final point of contact on the matter.
The resident asked the council to ensure officers follow Missouri requirements for documentation and ticketing in hit-and-run incidents and sought clarity on next steps. The council took the comments as public testimony; no formal council action on the incident was recorded in the transcript excerpts provided.
