Kansas City’s Fraternal Order of Police issued a letter this week accusing members of the Board of Police Commissioners of going “behind our backs” on issues important to police employees.

The letter accused board members of reaching out to city officials in Kansas City and St. Louis without the FOP’s knowledge on two hot topics: the department’s health insurance plans and city control of the department, now under state control.

“It appears we cannot take the word of the board at face value,” said the letter, which was signed by 11 FOP leaders and sent to the police board and Gov. Jay Nixon.

Police board president Pat McInerney said he hadn’t read the letter, but board vice president Angela Wasson-Hunt said she was surprised.

“I thought we had a pretty good working relationship,” she said. “If they were this unhappy, I would have thought they would have come talk to us.”