Kansas City Firefighters' Criminal Records Scrutinized

0:00It's March 27th. Welcome to Kansas News Today, powered by AI. I'm Cory with the story. A Kansas City firefighter crashed his pickup truck into a neighbor's house in South Kansas City last July. Kerry Gentry, who worked for the department for nearly 20 years, had a blood alcohol level four times the legal limit. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor driving while intoxicated charge and got two years of probation. Gentry resigned from the Kansas City Fire Department in November after earning over $102,000 a year. This marked his second DWI conviction, the first back in 2010. The crash caused extensive damage with a homeowner inside at the time. Meanwhile, Gentry's case highlights a pattern among department firefighters. John Spear, with 60 WIs including three felonies, just got five years in prison for probation violations. Christopher Seagull served 60 days in jail for his fourth DWI since 2016. New hire,

1:00Antanino Giara Puto also faced probation for a DWI soon after starting. Reporters uncover more issues using a custom tool to scan court records for hundreds of current and former employees. A flat case is like assault on co-workers and a Sodomy charge reduced to harassment. Several stayed on the job despite arrest. The fire department faces scrutiny over handling criminal records with a strong union often limiting discipline. More details from this probe should emerge soon, shedding light on accountability gaps.