Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas posted an interview Sunday in which he touted the city’s declining crime rate – the same day two teenagers and an adult were killed.
Mayor Quinton Lucas joined Rev. Al Sharpton on MSNBC to push back on the narrative that Democratic mayors are soft on crime, pointing to real reductions in violent crime across major American cities, including Kansas City. pic.twitter.com/HRJQEfmXnW
— Mayor Quinton Lucas (@MayorLucasKC) April 19, 2026
It also came just days after one of the Kansas City Chiefs rally shooting suspects received a light sentence.
Sunday, Lucas posted a segment of Al Sharpton’s PoliticsNation on MSNBC, where Sharpton asked him why Democrat politicians are still labeled “soft on crime” despite a decrease in city violence levels.
The same day as Lucas’ post, three people were killed in separate shootings. The victims were 15, 17 and 29 years old.
The Kansas City Police Department reported 138 homicides in 2025, the lowest level since 2018. Kansas City has had 38 homicides so far this year, and the department told Heartlander News the homicide rate is continuing to trend downward.
“Every major American city led by a Democratic mayor is seeing real results,” Lucas said in the interview.
He argued that the assumption Democrat-led cities are unsafe is untrue and part of President Donald Trump’s agenda.
“What we have seen time and again is that President Trump has no interest in actually sharing the truth,” Lucas said. “He is trying to activate tropes – frankly, I think latent racism in folks.”
Chicago and Baltimore, both led by Democrat mayors, along with Kansas City, are experiencing declining violence rates, Lucas said. However, some Kansas City residents question why killings continue and say it doesn’t feel like progress is being made.
Social media users reacted to Lucas’ X post of the interview with skepticism.
“It’s being ‘reduced’ because blue cities aren’t reporting crime statistics,” one commenter said.
“Under your tenure KC had the 4 highest murder rate years in its history,” another said, sharing screenshots of news stories. “KC is now ranked 8th most dangerous city in the US with highest percentage of unsheltered homeless people per capita among US cities.”
“You’re not even keeping murderers in jail,” a third commenter said. “Underreported violent crimes. Some of those crimes are plead down to misdemeanors.”
“Do you think we are stupid?” another commenter asked. “You have to actually arrest criminals for crimes in order for them to be counted in the statistics. You don’t do that.”
