Series of attacks on workers in the city of Independence

INDEPENDENCE, Missouri – Public employees in a big city have to constantly look over their shoulders as they do their jobs.

The Independence City Council is concerned about a series of dangerous incidents in which four public employees have been targeted, most of whom were themselves victims of threats. In one incident, a public parks employee was run over by a group of people on dirt bikes.

Independence City Manager Zach Walker told council members Monday that the parks employee was just doing his job and trying to stop bikers from riding their motorized motorcycles on the trails in Rotary Park. Dirt bikes are not allowed in public parks.

Walker said when that worker confronted the cyclists, he was head-butted and run over by the cyclists. Walker added that the worker required stitches at a nearby emergency clinic.

“We may not always like the rules, but they’re just trying to do their job by enforcing them. They’re just doing their job in service to the public. We may not always like the rules, but they’re just trying to do their job by enforcing them,” Walker said Monday.

On Tuesday, a city news release said police were investigating a second incident – a verbal attack in which a private citizen used his car to block two community development workers at a construction site. The news release said a third incident occurred in recent weeks when an Independence Power and Light employee was shot while attempting to cut off power to a home.

“These are employees trying to do their jobs. We want to make sure we are respectful to them. We can certainly disagree, but we can certainly do so in a polite, respectful manner,” said Independence Mayor Rory Rowland.

“The whole city needs to come together and pray for everything that’s happening. That’s what we need to do if we want to see change,” said Clinton Forbes, who just bought a home near Rotary Park.

The city has contacted all four workers involved in the three incidents. The city’s statement sent out Tuesday included this section.

“Each of these incidents gives us cause for reflection; the safety and well-being of our city employees is our top priority in every situation. We are having several in-depth and thorough internal discussions about changing our protocols to ensure the safety of our employees.”

The city’s statement does not provide any updated information on the man who was hit by the dirt bikes. If you know more about these cases, please call Independence Police at (816) 325-7300.