Talk about police bias scrutinized in Kansas governor’s race

By JOHN HANNA
AP Political Writer

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas’ Republican attorney general told a racial justice commission two years ago that racial bias “obviously” exists in law enforcement. But Attorney General Derek Schmidt said Tuesday that he wasn’t saying systemic racism exists and he stood by campaign attacks on Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly for using that phrase. Schmidt and fellow Republicans are portraying Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly as anti-police as Schmidt tries to unseat Kelly in November. George Floyd’s death in 2020 led Kelly to form a racial justice commission. As she did, she declared that systemic racism within law enforcement must end. Schmidt argues that Kelly is calling police officers racist. Her campaign accuses him of false smears.