PATROL DIVISION

The members of the Leawood Police Department's Patrol Division perform the "meat and potatoes" work of law enforcement.

Easily the most visible of the department's many units, the patrol division's three groups of officers are on duty 24 hours a day, 7 days a week spread throughout the city in their black and white patrol cars. The patrol division's work cycle is divided into three shifts: days (7 a.m. to 3 p.m.), evenings (3  to 11 p.m.) and midnights (11 p.m. to 7 a.m.). Officers bid to determine their shift and remain on that shift for three months before another round of bidding. Officers may not spend more than 6 months on a shift before they need to rotate to a different shift.

Each patrol shift is managed by a sergeant and includes a corporal; a master patrol officer; a field training officer, selected to supervise the on-the-job training of all newly hired officers; an evidence technician, a specialist in processing physical evidence at crime scenes; and five or six other patrol officers.

In addition to their patrol responsibilities, members of the patrol division also have individual specialties including: Firearms Instructor, ASP Baton Instructor, Taser Instructor, OC Instructor, Armorer, Police Marksman, Identity Theft Specialist, CPR Instructor, Emergency Vehicle Operations Instructors, Critical Incident Peer Counselors, Swift water Rescue, and Drug & Gang Specialists.

On any given day, Leawood patrol officers in any of the city's three zones may respond to reports of thefts in progress, injury accidents and other criminal investigations, or pursue self-initiated enforcement of traffic and other laws.

PATROL SUPERVISORS

Sgt. Tim Anderson joined the Leawood Police Department as an Animal Control Officer in 1989 and advanced to a police officer position in 1991. Throughout his career Sgt. Anderson has established himself as a specialist in the detection of impaired drivers. A Field Training Officer for 13 years, Sgt. Anderson was nationally certified as a Standardized Field Sobriety Test instructor in 1997, the same year he was selected for training as a Drug Recognition Expert (DRE). In 2007 he became a DRE Instructor. Three times he has been recognized by the Kansas City Mothers Against Drunk Driving group for his efforts to detect and remove impaired drivers from area streets. Anderson, who has also been recognized as the department's Officer of the Year, was promoted to sergeant in 2008. Contact Sgt. Anderson by e-mail.

Sgt. Tayne Smith is the Leawood Police Department's longest tenured officer, having first joined the department in 1980 as the first Public Service Officer before being moving up to police officer. A sergeant since 1990, Sgt. Smith has served the department as a photography specialist and two years as the Professional Standards Officer. Sgt. Smith is a past recipient of the Metropolitan Chiefs Association's Silver Award for Valor. Contact Sgt. Smith by e-mail

Sgt. Kirt Yoder was promoted to Sergeant in the Patrol Division in 2009. He first joined the department in 1999 after four years as a deputy with the Johnson County Sheriff's Office. Since coming to Leawood, Yoder has worked in both the Patrol Division and the Traffic Management Unit as a motorcycle officer. He has also served as a Field Training Officer, a CLAMP/GRASP self defense instructor, a Crisis Negotiator and a Child Safety Restraint Instructor. An accomplished scuba diver, Yoder volunteered for five years with the Lee's Summit Underwater Rescue and Recovery Team. In addition to his duties as one of the three patrol supervisors, Sgt. Yoder also implemented and supervises the department's field training program for new officers. Contact Sgt. Yoder by e-mail.