DISMISSED CASES NEAR 2 DOZEN AFTER FIRING

Charges have been dropped in 11 more drug cases, bringing to 23 the number
of dismissed cases involving fired Lawrence Police officer Stuart "Mike" Peck.

Police Chief Ron Olin fired Peck last month on the heels of a ruling by
Douglas County District Judge Michael Malone that Peck gave misleading
information about a confidential informant to obtain a search warrant in a
drug case.

A Lawrence defense attorney said the turn of events gave defense teams the
opportunity to chip away at police credibility in cases that had nothing to
do with Peck.

"You can allude to it in other cases and raise questions about the veracity
of the state's evidence," attorney Martin Miller said.

A police spokesman used a sports metaphor. He said his department has had a
string of losses.

"We're in a downturn," Lt. David Cobb said. "I think we're going to bounce
back."

Peck said the dismissals were making Lawrence Police afraid to be
aggressive in their work. They've given up what he called "knock and talks"
- -- going to an address where an officer suspects illegal activity, then
asking for consent to search.

"It hurts," Peck said. "I've had officers tell me in confidence that
they're afraid to do aggressive police work ... because they've seen what
happened to me."

Of the most recent batch of 11 dismissals, eight involve misdemeanor
drug-possession charges. Three involve felonies: selling ecstasy at a
downtown nightclub, a marijuana-dealing case and a methamphetamine-
possession case.

Peck's role in the methamphetamine possession arrest was controversial long
before his firing. The suspect's attorney argued that Peck had no legal
grounds for the stop that led to the arrest and had moved to suppress all
evidence seized from the stop.

The suspect was a passenger in a truck Peck stopped on July 10, 2001.
According to an affidavit, Peck stopped the truck for erratic driving, saw
a bottle of malt liquor in the cab, and arrested the driver for having an
open container of alcohol.

Peck then detained the passenger at the scene so that he could look for
more open containers, according to court records. As he searched the car,
he found methamphetamine in a cigarette package on the floor close to the
passenger and arrested him because he was close to the drug.

Later, police found methamphetamine in the defendant's pocket during a
search, but defense attorney Richard Frydman argued that Peck had no
grounds to detain his client or arrest him in the first place.

"There was absolutely no evidence that defendant had been using or
distributing drugs," Frydman wrote.

Assistant Dist. Atty. Dan Dunbar argued Peck could have reasonably believed
the drugs on the floor of the truck were the defendant's, in part because
they were within his reach.

According to the court file, the case was dismissed before a judge had an
opportunity to rule on whether the evidence should be admitted.