Former Wichita police officer loses license after lying about being high on the job
A former Wichita Police Department officer’s law enforcement license was revoked after she was accused of lying to supervisors about being under the influence of marijuana while on the job.
Breanna Johnson was employed by the department from Jan. 11, 2021 to Feb. 17, 2023, according to a summary order of revocation from the Kansas Commission on Peace Officers’ Standards and Training.
The organization, also known as KS-CPOST, oversees law enforcement training and certification in Kansas.
In a statement, Johnson said she used marijuana in 2022 to cope with PTSD after she was shot in the line of duty on Christmas Day in 2021.
“I wanted a 30-year career with the Wichita Police Department, however life had other plans,” Johnson said.
The summary order of revocation gives this account:
On Dec. 12, 2022, a WPD employee noticed a strong odor of marijuana coming from Johnson and reported it. Command staff interviewed Johnson and said that she appeared to be impaired.
Johnson denied the accusation that she had used marijuana and said she would not test positive on a drug test. When she was tested, results came back positive for marijuana.
Johnson then “admitted that she lied to WPD command staff on December 12 when she stated that she had not used marijuana that day. Respondent also stated that she has no plans to discontinue her marijuana use.”
Johnson was a police officer in the department, WPD spokesperson Juan Rebolledo said in an email. He would not say if she had resigned or if she was terminated.
In a statement emailed to The Eagle, Johnson said she started using marijuana to treat PTSD after being shot in the line of duty.
Johnson’s narrative coincides with a shooting that occurred at about 1 a.m. on Dec. 25, 2021 where two WPD officers were shot while following up on felony domestic violence case, The Eagle previously reported.
The Eagle reached out to the Wichita Police Department for details on the shooting that Johnson said she was involved in but had not heard back.
After the shooting, she was off patrol duty for the remainder of her time with the department.
“In 2022, my PTSD from the shooting became a very apparent issue,” Johnson said. “I became a shell of myself and was barely eating. I began smoking marijuana in an effort to ease the PTSD and to prevent an eating disorder from the occurring.”
She said she is seeking mental health care. “I am unable to work in general at the moment. I cannot be in big crowds or even outside of my house without the PTSD occurring.
“At this point in time, I am looking to attend school for another degree,” she said. “My main priorities now are my kids, partner and ensuring that our household is stable.”
This story was originally published September 15, 2023 at 5:55 AM.