Former officer pleads guilty to pulling gun at birthday party

A former Wichita police officer accused of pulling a gun at a birthday party while he was off duty pleaded guilty last week to three counts of misdemeanor assault.

Branden Ryan Glass had been working for the Wichita Police Department for less than a year and was in field training when he was jailed early on New Year’s Day in 2015 after authorities responded to a domestic violence report at his home. Court records show he pleaded guilty to amended charges on March 6 after waiving his jury trial.

A judge immediately sentenced him to time served.

Glass, 25, was accused of pushing a man during the New Year’s Eve party and of pulling a gun to “intimidate and scare people into leaving his residence” during an August 2014 birthday party, according to court records. Prosecutors initially charged with him five felonies – four counts of aggravated assault and one count of criminal threat – and one count of misdemeanor battery. A judge later found insufficient evidence to try him on three of the felony counts.

Glass had already surrendered his law enforcement certification to the Kansas Commission on Peace Officers’ Standards and Training at the time of his plea and sentencing, according to court records. The police department fired him less than a week after his arrest, according to The Eagle’s news archives.

This story was originally published March 13, 2017 at 5:23 PM with the headline "Former officer pleads guilty to pulling gun at birthday party."