Karen U. Williams

KAREN U. WILLIAMS has been an analyst with the Kansas City, Missouri Board of Police Commissioners’ Office of Community Complaints (one of the oldest continually operating police oversight agencies) for the past nine years. In this position, Ms. Williams is tasked with the intake, analysis, and reporting of complaints, as well as compilation of the Annual Report, quarterly newsletters, and statistical reports. She also teaches classes to community members, members of the Department, and police officer candidates on the complaint progress, ways to reduce complaints, and responsible interaction with the police. Ms. Williams serves as the coordinator of the Office of Community Complaints’ Advisory Council, a group of Kansas Citians who act as the Office’s “eyes and ears” in the community and test complaint facilities for compliance with the Office’s policies and procedures.

Prior to her current position with the Board of Police Commissioners, Ms. Williams was employed by Shook, Hardy, and Bacon L.L.P., in Kansas City, Missouri as a Products Liability Analyst, where she reviewed and analyzed client files, collected documents for litigation, and maintained a database of documents produced to a legal depository as a result of litigation. Ms. Williams also was a summer intern for the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department for four summers, spending two summers working for the North Patrol Division and two summers at the Regional Police Academy.

Ms. Williams has a BA (1999) from Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa, with degrees in both Political Science and History. She graduated with distinction from Park University in Parkville, Missouri (2010) with a Master of Public Affairs degree, with a concentration in Nonprofit and Community Services Management.

In her spare time, Ms. Williams runs a custom invitation business, serves as an admissions ambassador for Cornell College and sits on the board of GiveKC.