Wichita police leader emailed SWAT team after text message scandal. Here’s what he said

A deputy police chief who signed on to a legal letter this past week calling racist text messages sent by the SWAT team “repugnant” had sent the elite group an email praising them shortly after the controversy first emerged in March.

The letter sent Monday on behalf of deputy chiefs Chester Pinkston and Jose Salcido along with former deputy chief Wanda Givens also calls the text messages “racist, violent and misogynistic.” It acknowledges the deputy chiefs didn’t discipline the officers involved in the messages. But it suggests other city departments undermined their efforts to rid the department of “small pockets of corruption, sexism, homophobia, racism, and violence operating within the Wichita Police Department and City of Wichita.”

In March, the day after The Eagle reported about the messages and lack of punishment, Pinkston sent an email praising the SWAT team. He called them “noble servants of the community,” told them to “hold your head high” and assured them the executive team, which included Pinkston and Salcido, had their backs.

“There is no doubt in my mind that you have heard many rumors and speculation about how you are perceived by Command,” Pinkston wrote “If it is anything other than we have faith in you and your abilities, it is wrong. If it is anything other than we support you, it is wrong. ... If only the community understood the multitude of adverse circumstances this team has found itself in and the positive results you have achieved.”

The email, which The Eagle obtained in a records request, was sent to 23 people on the SWAT team, including two officers who were involved in a text message thread where officers talked indifferently about shooting people. Both of those officers have killed people.

Pinkston would not comment for this story. He referred questions to his attorney, James Thompson, who replied with an emailed statement:

“Supporting officers and holding them accountable are not mutually exclusive concepts,” he said. “Good leaders do both and Chet Pinkston is a good leader as shown in the email. Attempting to discredit Deputy Chief Pinkston based on one email cherry picked from a yearlong investigation is disingenuous.”

Still, the contrasting communications show how Wichita police leaders have tried to distance themselves from their decision not to discipline officers by directing blame at the city manager, human resources and the police union.

The demand letter, a legally required first step in suing a public agency, contends the deputy chiefs have been overruled by city officials in the past when trying to discipline officers involved in wrongdoing. The letter lists a string of incidents from up to five years ago with cases involving accusations of cover-ups and interference.

The deputy chiefs seek $2.1 million, resignations by City Manager Robert Layton and Human Resources Director Chris Bezruki and a public apology from the city.

Layton has called the letter inaccurate and outrageous.

The letter carries a much different tone than Pinkston’s email to the SWAT team. At the end of the email, Pinkston said he’s thought the worst without knowing everything in situations before, only to be disappointed in himself once he finds out all the details.

“I hope that is what the community and our detractors will do, when given the full story,” he said.

But the additional details that have emerged have painted a bleak picture:

• Police did not originally bring troubling information to state and federal prosecutors, as is required under federal law to ensure defendants get a fair trial. The state first learned about it from Interim Chief Lemuel Moore after an Eagle reporter asked for an interview in March. By then, police had known about the messages for a year.
• When the Citizen’s Review Board reviewed the case, key details were left out. A police captain blamed former chief Gordon Ramsay and his leadership team for leaving out details to the board, which was created to improve transparency in the department.
• The initial investigation missed some messages. When officers reinvestigated after The Eagle’s report, they found racist and inappropriate messages sent by an additional officer and two firefighters.

The legal letter sent Monday by Thompson came after an April city report found former chief Gordon Ramsay and the deputy chiefs were responsible for the light punishments.

The report, based partially on interviews with Pinkston and Salcido, found Ramsay and his deputy chiefs “failed to exercise leadership at a critical time and adequately address the officer misconduct while making a strong clear statement that behavior of this type will not be tolerated.”

The messages sent by 13 Wichita officers, 12 who were or had been on SWAT, included a racist photoshopped image of a naked Black man sitting on George Floyd’s head and officers casually talking about shooting people and claiming allegiance to an extremist group. The only officer originally suspended was one who called Ramsay a tool. Three officers were suspended by Moore and Layton after the city reopened the investigation.

“Statements made by the Deputy Chiefs (Pinkston and Salcido) to the Committee exhibit a lack of clear understanding of the impact that the officers’ misconduct has on the community, WPD and the City of Wichita and seemingly excuse the officers’ actions,” the report said.

Further, the report directed Moore to “make a determination on the Deputy Chiefs’ (Pinkston and Salcido) competency to continue serving in their current roles and their contribution to a lacking culture of accountability and leadership.”

Contributing: Chance Swaim and Matthew Kelly with The Eagle.

This story was originally published September 25, 2022 at 6:00 AM.