Kansas City, MO

The Career Criminal Squad of the Kansas City Police Department, under the leadership of Sergeant Eric Greenwell, has provided extraordinary assistance to the FBI in furtherance of the Bureau’s priorities. The actions of this squad and Sgt. Greenwell have had a significant impact on the community and have contributed to a strong relationship and high level of trust within law enforcement.

The Career Criminal Squad was founded in September 2001, and has evolved into a multi-agency task force, consisting of KCMOPD; FBI; U.S. Marshals Service; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms; Immigration and Customs Enforcement; and the United States Postal Inspection Service. The task force has dedicated much of its work to preventing gang violence and educating the public about that problem. One example of the task force’s work has been a five-year investigation in which the subject was the leader of an inner city drug gang and was responsible for 22 murders. Through hard work and dedication, the subject was arrested and was sentenced to two life sentences, plus 140 years without the possibility of parole on charges of drug-related homicides.

With the assistance of the Career Criminal Squad, Shauntay Henderson, a subject on the FBI Top 10 list was taken into custody. Henderson was a suspect in approximately 10 homicides in Kansas City and a reputed gang member. With the assistance of the Career Criminal Squad, Henderson was apprehended without incident.

Another example of benefits derived by the community from the dedication of the Career Criminal Squad was the identification of a suspect responsible for a pattern of business burglaries in the metropolitan area. When the pattern had been discovered, over 20 burglaries had occurred, with substantial loss of money and property for small business owners. A member of the Career Criminal Squad recognized the similarities of these robberies and related them to individuals believed to be responsible for at least 10 bank burglaries as well. As a result of this investigation, 13 suspects operating within three separate but related groups were identified. Eventually the 13 suspects were arrested and charged on 43 separate state and federal counts.