A Chase County deputy is out of a job after a report of a party involving allegations of underage individuals and alcoholic consumption.
Chase County Sheriff Jacob Welsh says the report was made late the night of Aug 7 regarding what was listed as a large party in the 500 block of EF Road near Cedar Point. Several people under the age of 21 were cited on suspicion of being minors in consumption.
The initial investigation determined the property owner was an off-duty Chase County deputy who is not being named. Welsh says the deputy was quickly placed on administrative leave as additional investigative work continued, but the deputy’s badge, equipment and law enforcement authority were “secured” at that time. Welsh also says the deputy did not serve additional time and is no longer employed by his office.
The Sheriff’s Office consulted with the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and the Kansas Commission on Peace Officers’ Standards and Training on Aug 9. Following those conversations, the investigation is now being led by the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office with prosecution possible, depending on the investigation’s path forward.
Welsh acknowledges a delay in releasing information and he says he accepts the public’s demand for transparency, but he says the incident has involved an active investigation and personnel matters — so it was “important to protect the integrity of the process and ensure facts were properly established before making a public statement.” Welsh also says he is committed to offering appropriate information but also balancing procedural and legal requirements.
Welsh says law enforcement carries a higher standard of conduct for on-duty and off-duty officers, and he says Sheriff’s Office employees have taken steps to strengthen public trust — which he calls “sacred, fragile, hard to earn and lost instantly if we ever fail to remain worthy of it.”
Lyon County Sheriff Jeff Cope will have an update after the investigation is finished.
