Wichita Interim Police Chief Lem Moore has announced disciplinary steps he has taken against police officers who sent or received inappropriate text messages, and City Manager Robert Layton has announced additional steps for three officers.
Moore said the texting misconduct took place between May, 2018 and February, 2021, and it was discovered during an investigation of a now-former Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Sergeant who had been a member of the police department’s SWAT team. Chief Moore conducted a review of the original disciplinary actions that were taken in eight separate incidents involving 13 officers.
The text messages involved inappropriate comments about officer-involved shootings, racist and homophobic comments or insensitive comments.
In all, six officers received discipline, and three of them were given suspensions. These officers received written reprimands or citations of conduct unbecoming an officer, and one officer who did not respond to or report an inappropriate comment will be given coaching on how to handle situations in the future.
Three other officers are no longer employed by the Wichita Police Department.
Four other officers were not disciplined. Three of them made comments about not liking a former police chief, and Moore said the former chief did not determine that to be a disciplinary matter. One other officer was not disciplined over a video that was sent to him by the Sheriff’s Sergeant.
Chief Moore announced suspensions of three officers for eight days without pay, but City Manager Layton said their actions warrant more serious consequences. He said one officer was given 15 days without pay for sharing a racist meme of the George Floyd murder in Minneapolis. The officer will also be prohibited from participating in any special assignments until he has completed a cultural assessment with a training and coaching program. Another officer was given a 15-day suspension for receiving and sharing a racist meme. He was also assigned to desk duty with no special assignments until he has completed an assessment with training and coaching. The third officer, who sent text messages supporting an extremist group supporting the Capitol riot in Washington, will be given desk duty until he is given a fitness-for-duty evaluation.
Layton said the city has received several bids from firms for an outside evaluation of the Wichita Police Department, and said a firm should be selected in the next few weeks. He said he is hopeful that the evaluation will determine if the department has a systemic problem that goes beyond the recent text message incidents. Layton said if that is the case, steps will be taken to fix it. He said he will do whatever is necessary to make sure citizens have a police department they can trust and be proud of.
Chief Moore said strategic steps have been taken to move forward and correct any deficiencies in the department. He said Wichita needs and deserves a department that is reflective of the values and cultures of the city. He said residents deserve a high level of accountability from the department, and he will not tolerate the kind of behavior that occurred in the testing incidents.
