The Lawrence Police Department has released more information about a ticket-fixing scheme involving at least two officers. The allegations concern the possibility that officers "fixed" traffic citations in exchange for tickets to University of Kansas sporting events.
In a statement issued today (FRI), Police Chief Tarik Khatib said:
"The investigation thus far has found that one commissioned employee had a friendship relationship with a former employee of the KU Athletic Department. This relationship existed for some time and dates back to the late 1990s or early 2000s. As part of this relationship, the commissioned employee received free, discounted or otherwise special access to certain athletic events over the several years. At some point in the relationship, the former KU Athletic Department employee requested assistance with traffic citations. The investigation found that over the course of nine years the commissioned employee assisted in the fixing of at least six citations... 'Fixing' is defined as the voiding of an issued citation before it is transferred to Municipal Court, the request for dismissal from Municipal Court, or intervening before the citation is issued.
During the course of events, the commissioned employee asked a second commissioned employee two to three times for assistance in the fixing of the citations. This second employee may have been the beneficiary of KU Athletic event tickets through the first employee. The other citations were fixed by asking the officers that issued or were about to issue a citation to void or not issue it. The requests to those officers were conveyed as a favor for the two commissioned employees and not one in which the issuing officer knowingly received anything in return. The FBI’s investigation did not disclose sufficient evidence to go forward with the prosecution of bribery or other criminal offenses that the United States Attorney’s Office could pursue. However, this conduct violates the Department’s gratuity and solicitation policies."
Chief Khatib stated further that one of the commissioned officers is no longer an employee of the department. One additional commissioned employee remains suspended pending the conclusion of their personnel investigation. He said his department continues to attempt to identify any further incidents and, at this time, no other suspensions are anticipated.