After I covered the murder trial of Columbia’s former Water and Light director, James Kraig Kahler, I began reporting on the Columbia Police Department. Early in the semester, veteran officer Rob Sanders was fired from the department for using excessive force against a prisoner in a holding cell. That incident sparked a battle between an old guard of police officers resisting changes Police Chief Ken Burton and others were trying to make, specifically in the way officers were trained and how they acted when responding to calls and investigating. The bulk of my reporting focused on the Sanders case.

Police internal affairs looking into August holding cell incident | 9.13.2011

My editor and I began speculating about the subject of a news conference one of the department’s public information officers had mentioned. I looked into possible issues the conference could be covering, and that investigation resulted in this story.

Columbia Police Department audit finds ‘loose’ regulation of firearms | 9.19.2011

The department sent out a news release about the findings of an audit of its firearms. This was the first time I interviewed Burton, and it set the stage for quite a few future stories.

Columbia police officer fired over use of excessive force in holding cell | 9.21.2011

A news conference brought the speculation to an end; Burton had fired a veteran officer for using excessive force against a prisoner in a holding cell.

Update: Rob Sanders, a veteran policeman, was fired from the department | 9.22.2011

As soon as I was able to report further information on the man, Kenneth Baker, and the fired officer, Rob Sanders, I wrote an update to the original story. The firing prompted a public battle between supporters of  the fired officer, Rob Sanders, and Burton’s backers, which I continued to cover over the course of the semester. Here are the clips from what happened next:

Fired police officer subject of two more Internal Affairs investigations | 10.21.2011

Civil lawsuit filed against former Columbia police officer | 11.3.2011

Fired officer’s supporters call for Columbia police chief to resign | 11.21.2011

Unrelated to the Sanders case Just for fun, I headed out to an alpaca farm to cover an open house where families could pick apples and pet alpacas.

National Alpaca Farm Days draw crowds at Binder farm in Mexico, Mo. | 9.24.2011