K.C. police board to review policy on injured people

? The Board of Police Commissioners plans to look into the police policy on handling sick or injured people, almost a week after releasing a videotape showing two arresting officers ignoring a pregnant woman’s pleas for help.

The meeting is scheduled for Monday, exactly one year after Sudanese native Sofia Salva was arrested on outstanding warrants. She had a miscarriage the next day.

Two police officers who arrested her were suspended indefinitely with pay Thursday, two days after police released a videotape showing Salva telling officers she was pregnant, bleeding and needed to go to a hospital. The tape shows officers ignoring her pleas.

Salva, 32, has sued officers Melody Spencer and Kevin Schnell and the Kansas City Police Department for wrongful death and personal injuries.

Karl Zobrist, a member of the Board of Police Commissioners, said the group, which sets policies for the Police Department, will not discuss the Salva case because of the pending litigation and an internal investigation into how officers and jailers treated Salva.

“But we’re free to look at the policy,” he said Friday. “We want to focus on what governs the decision to grant medical treatment.”

Police Department policy states that “officers will procure transportation for a sick or injured person when requested or appropriate.” It spells out certain situations, mostly involving people who are not under arrest.

The officers stopped Salva after they saw her placing a fake temporary tag on the back window of her car. The officers handcuffed Salva after learning she had outstanding city warrants for endangering children, trespassing, driving while suspended and other traffic violations.

Salva’s attorney, Andrew Protzman, did not immediately return a phone message left at his office Saturday. He said Friday that it was still too early to answer specific questions about the arrest beyond what was alleged in the lawsuit.