In the wake of upheaval within the Overland Park Police Department, new Chief of Police Doreen Jokerst — the city’s first female top cop — wants to take on a “forward-thinking” approach to law enforcement as a “servant leader.”

“I believe public service is a gift, that this badge should not be taken lightly, and it should be worn with integrity,” Chief Jokerst said in an interview with the Post. “It’s going to be about learning people and ensuring people have a seat at the table and those that may never have had a seat at the table, making sure that they’re invited.”

Officer John Lacy, the department’s public information officer, said there has been excitement about Jokerst’s arrival.

“The city, the residents and employees of Overland Park, we’re really happy that she’s here, and at the same time, we are looking for what changes she’s going to make for the better for the Overland Park Police Department,” he told the Post.

Jokerst started as the city’s new police chief last week and took the formal oath of office at Monday’s city council meeting.

Jokerst takes the helm following turmoil at OPPD

Jokerst’s predecessor Frank Donchez resigned from the chief position in September 2023 after serving in the role for almost a decade.

At first, a reason for his resignation was not given, though it was revealed later that when he submitted his resignation, City Manager Lori Curtis Luther had started the process of terminating his employment following a heated exchange with Sheila Albers, whose son John Albers was shot and killed by an officer in 2018 during a mental health crisis.

Sheila ​​Albers was openly critical of Donchez over the years for his handling of her son’s killing. In 2021, faith leaders called on him to resign over the matter and also how the department treated social justice protesters in 2020.

Additionally, four Overland Park police officers accused of misusing charity funds for their own benefit resigned late last year.

An audit released by the Overland Park Fraternal Order of Police slammed four officers who were board members of the Overland Park Police Officers Foundation for violating the bylaws of the charity and disbursing thousands of dollars to themselves.

Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe’s office declined to charge the four officers, which drew criticism from the leadership of the Overland Park FOP. They were also critical of the lengthy investigation.

At the end of the day, Jokerst said she believes in transparency and doing the job with integrity.

“When this job is done with integrity, it is the best job in the world,” she said. “But it is not lost on me that our job has to be in culmination with public trust, and we have to be doing that together.”

“It requires listening, it requires transparent conversations, and it requires me as the leader hearing the different perspectives that people may have, and sometimes those could be a little disheartening, but that doesn’t mean that they’re not truthful,” Jokerst added.

Additionally, she wants to help rebuild some of those bridges that might have been broken.

“Anything I can do to bridge those gaps and make sure that we have trust and transparency within the community, I will do,” she said. “This is a public service, and officers are held to a higher standard, and so anything someone does to tarnish this badge or erode trust would not be a good fit here at our police department.”

Jokerst is prioritizing training, transparency

In her interview with the Post, she was complimentary of the Overland Park Police Department’s Crisis Action Team, or OPCAT, which is the city’s co-responder unit that focuses on mental health in emergency response.

In addition to those efforts, Jokerst said she wants to make sure the department is using trauma-informed policing practices as well as bias-based policing prevention methods and considering the history of policing in its approach.

Community engagement, in her mind, should play a big role in that, too. She wants officers to know the community they’re serving “before the first call” they go on.

All of that, she said, should help the department be “constantly pushing … forward.”

Additionally, Jokerst values transparency, but understands there’s sometimes a “delicate balance” when it comes to active investigations, particularly when officers are involved.

In investigating critical incidents with officers, including shootings or in other cases, she favors a multijurisdictional approach, which is what Johnson County uses with its Officer Involved Critical Incident Investigative Team. There have been some criticisms of the team over concerns of transparency and accountability to the public, but it has been around in some form for about 20 years.

Still, Jokerst believes that it’s important that agencies aren’t investigating themselves.

“I do think if things can be disclosed, they should,” she said. “I usually say, ‘Bad news does not age like fine wine.’”

Jokerst has been a voice in national police reform

After George Floyd was killed by police officers in 2020, Jokerst was invited to take part in a conversation about police reform started by Simon Sinek, an author and speaker who focuses on leadership.

That discussion with other police chiefs and sheriffs sought to hash out what Jokerst calls “the crisis of leadership in policing,” while emphasizing police reform and a mission of policing that puts “protect[ing] the most vulnerable from harm” at the forefront.

That grew into The Curve, a nonprofit organization committed to modernizing policing, of which Jokerst is now considered a founding member. She sits on the board of directors as well, and the group is working toward hosting a professional conference next year while also putting together training and other educational programs.

“Moving those things forward, and making sure people run to us for help and don’t run away,” she said, “I think it’s really going to be very impactful for policing.”

Beyond her involvement with The Curve, Jokerst believes departments should prioritize diversity in their hiring practices, ensuring the force represents the community. With that, she’s glad the Overland Park Police Department has already taken the 30×30 pledge, an effort to have 30% of the police force be women by 2030.

She wants to promote a working culture that is “inclusive and welcoming,” and she thinks that starts at the top.

“I do believe hurt people hurt people, which means if I constantly yell and berate my staff, I should not be surprised that they go out and do that to the community,” Jokerst said. “It starts with building an inclusive culture where people can thrive.”

Jokerst got involved in law enforcement young

Jokerst got her start in law enforcement at age 14, inspired by a family visit to the San Francisco Bay Area, where she saw Alcatraz Island, the former federal penitentiary that incarcerated the likes of Al Capone.

Before that, no one in her family had worked in law enforcement.

“It really resonated with me, and I looked at my parents and said, ‘I want to be a police officer,’” Jokerst said.

At home in Colorado, she went on to join the Parker Police Department’s Explorer Program, which is for people ages 14 to 20 to “get involved in the police department,” she said, adding that it can also be a way to help prospective police officers ensure the job “is the right fit for them.”

She stuck with the program until she aged out, eventually entering the police academy and getting hired by her hometown department, where she worked for 20 years.

Then, she was hired as the Assistant Vice Chancellor and Chief of Police for the University of Colorado Boulder, where she worked for six years before applying for the Chief of Police job in Overland Park.

“It’s really that culmination together and the different things I’ve learned in the various positions and roles that I have served that I believe has adequately prepared me for this position,” Jokerst said.

She noted too that she was drawn to the city by its “vibrant community” and the value the city places on engagement with the public and community policing. Jokerst also liked that the police department has national and state-level accreditation — something not every department has.

Looking ahead:

Right now, she’s working on getting “to know more people” in the police department, the city and the wider community.

Her family — including her two teenage daughters — are settling in and experiencing Overland Park.

“I’m constantly out there, trying different things, trying different restaurants, going shopping at different places,” she said. “It’s just kind of taking it all in and being a part of this community. … I’m just excited to meet our residents, our community, our business owners. I’m excited to meet everybody.”

Keep reading: Overland Park announces hiring of new police chief