Wichita police officer fired after crashing SUV at 79 mph without lights, sirens on

A Wichita police officer has been fired more than a year after he crashed his patrol vehicle into a pickup, critically injuring a 71-year-old man, while speeding to a 911 call without his lights and sirens on.

Officer Samuel Dugo previously was charged with aggravated battery-recklessly causing great bodily harm in connection with the March 2018 wreck. Though the criminal case is ongoing — Dugo has pleaded not guilty — he has been fired from the Wichita Police Department in connection to the crash.

A WPD document provided to the Citizen Review Board last week shows a pair of internal investigations ended with terminations in August. Dugo is named in the summary of one investigation, and Capt. Chet Pinkston said the two investigations stem from the same case and involve the same officer.

The first Professional Standards Bureau investigation was opened June 19, 2018 — the same day Dugo was charged in Sedgwick County District Court. The police document states that an employee was involved in a serious injury collision and charged with aggravated battery. The employee was terminated for allegedly committing a felony.

The second PSB case was opened a year later, after Dugo allegedly violated a department policy that requires employees charged with a crime to resolve the case in a timely manner. That policy violation also led to termination.

Pinkston told the review board that Dugo had been suspended without pay for the 14 months between when he was charged and terminated.

Police spokesman Officer Kevin Wheeler said Dugo’s employment ended Aug. 30. He had been with the department since July 5, 2016.

The wreck happened at around 10:38 p.m. on March 16, 2018, when Dugo’s marked WPD Chevy Tahoe collided with a Ford Ranger at the intersection of Broadway and Pine. The force of the collision threw the pickup’s driver, Donald S. Clark, 71, of Bel Aire, through the front windshield, a Kansas Highway Patrol crash report states.

Clark was taken to a hospital in critical condition, suffering from brain bleeding, broken ribs, neck fractures and a broken shoulder. Dugo was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

The KHP investigation determined Dugo was driving 79 mph at the time of the collision in an area of downtown where the posted speed limit is 30 mph. He was not using his emergency lights or sirens. At one point, Dugo was clocked at 100 mph on Broadway, according to information from the vehicle’s automatic location device.

Police have said he was responding to a burglary in progress call at a business near Central and Washington.

At least two QuikTrip surveillance cameras monitoring the exterior of the Broadway and Murdock convenience store captured video of Dugo driving down Broadway with no visual warning alerting other motorists and pedestrians that he was responding to an emergency situation. In the video, it’s dark outside, and a person can be seen finishing a walk across Broadway at Murdock about 10 seconds before Dugo’s patrol car zips through the intersection.

Police records show the internal investigation was opened the same day Dugo was charged, which was more than three months after the crash happened. Police publicly announced the charge, and that Dugo was on unpaid leave, a month later.

Contributing: Amy Renee Leiker of The Eagle