POLICE ALTER INVESTIGATION POLICY

The changes at the Wichita Police Department should address Judge Rebecca
Pilshaw's concerns.

A week after a judge criticized a police internal investigation into
allegations of officer misconduct, Wichita Police Chief Norman Williams
said the department has changed its rules to ensure objective investigations.

In a wide-ranging interview Thursday afternoon about the allegations,
Williams said that he -- not the supervisor of one of the officers accused
of misconduct -- initiated the misconduct investigation. He also said the
department is reminding officers not to repeat a request for a search
without a warrant if a person says no.

Those actions would address criticism of police by District Judge Rebecca
Pilshaw. But Williams said the department decided to take the actions
before Pilshaw gave her ruling and opinion last Friday.

After an eight-day hearing on allegations that three officers on a special
crime-fighting team violated people's rights, Pilshaw found no pattern of
willful and illegal misconduct. But she ruled that the officers were
coercive in some searches, and she dismissed evidence seized in one of
their drug cases.

Williams accepted blame for two aspects of the internal investigation
faulted by Pilshaw: that police did not interview any of the alleged
victims of police misconduct, and that a supervisor associated with the
officers helped lead the internal investigation. Pilshaw said the
investigation lacked objectivity.

"I'll take the hit," Williams said.

Kurt Kerns, the defense lawyer who argued that the officers had routinely
violated people's constitutional rights, applauded the actions Williams
outlined and praised him for conceding mistakes.

"It could have been business as usual," Kerns said. "I think it takes a man
of courage to say, 'Mistakes have been made, and I'm going to do whatever
it takes to remedy the situation.' He has my eternal respect."

In her opinion, Pilshaw said that the officers she faulted --Sgt. John
Bannister and Officers Kevin Goebel and Michael Thode -- had probably
served too long together. On Thursday, Williams said the officers had
requested reassignment and no longer work together.

From now on, he said, internal investigations will be conducted
differently in two ways.

First, internal investigators will attempt to interview anyone who believes
he has been wronged by police, regardless of whether the person files a
complaint.

Pilshaw faulted the internal investigation for making little or no effort
to interview 10 alleged victims of police misconduct. None of those people
had filed a complaint.

Second, only members of the Professional Standards staff will conduct
internal investigations, to ensure neutrality and consistency, Williams said.

Pilshaw criticized the internal investigation because one of the lead
investigators had some association with the officers under investigation.

Police officials had said that particular investigator was temporarily
assigned to Professional Standards to assist the internal investigation in
part because he had an injury requiring light duty.

In her ruling, Pilshaw said two of the accused officers -- Bannister and
Goebel -- were wrong in not accepting people's initial denial to a request
for a search.

Williams said police supervisors are reminding officers that "if a person
says no, that means no."

In a related matter, Williams said he was the one who initiated the
internal investigation by responding to a complaint from the district
attorney's office. He said he directed subordinates to check on the
complaint and prepare a report.

"Citizens need to know that accountability is important in this
organization," he said. "When we get complaints, we follow through on those
complaints."

So far, Lt. Tom Spencer has received most of the credit -- and the
criticism -- for helping to raise the misconduct allegations.

Pilshaw, the judge, credited the Police Department for initiating the
investigation, but she singled Spencer out for praise, saying she was proud
of him. Spencer testified that fellow officers have retaliated against him
for preparing a report on the allegations.

During the hearing, the prosecutor raised testimony accusing Spencer of
being a vindictive supervisor out to get Bannister, Goebel, Thode and others.

In a comment relayed by his lawyer Thursday, Spencer said:

"I had every reason to believe all along I was doing the right thing and
the chief supported my investigation."