Fake cop lied about being an officer while using lights, sirens in Wichita car chase

A Derby man will spend a year on probation after falsely impersonating a law enforcement officer for more than a year.

Kory Michael Farmer pleaded guilty last week in Sedgwick County District Court to one count of misdemeanor false impersonation, District Attorney Marc Bennett said in a news release. He was sentenced to a year of probation with an underlying six months in jail if he violates his probation.

Farmer, a 34-year-old Derby man, was caught impersonating a law enforcement officer multiple times during a 15-month span between August 2019 and November 2020, court documents show. The incidents happened in Wichita, Eastborough, Derby and Mulvane.

It wasn’t until after his Nov. 16 arrest in the 7500 block of East Kellogg that Farmer faced criminal charges.

A Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office affidavit in the case states that at around noon on Nov. 16, two detectives were driving east on Kellogg near Hillside in an unmarked sheriff’s car. They were passed by a Chevy Silverado apparently chasing a Pontiac Grand Prix at high speeds. The pickup had lights and sirens activated, similar to an emergency vehicle.

The pursuit exited to eastbound Kellogg Drive, continued to Rock Road, then continued westbound on Kellogg Drive. Farmer was the driver of the pickup truck, and he made multiple lane changes in heavy traffic without using signals.

Farmer then “stopped abruptly in the center median” and approached the unmarked sheriff’s car “in an aggressive manner,” the affidavit states. The detective driving the vehicle then activated the emergency lights.

“Who the (expletive) are you?” Farmer shouted at the sheriff’s detectives, according to the affidavit.

The detectives got out of the car and asked Farmer who he was, noting he “appeared to be a law enforcement officer wearing an exterior bullet proof vest, duty type holster loaded with a black handgun, body camera, Taser and multiple handcuff cases.”

The detectives identified themselves as real law enforcement officers. Farmer refused to identify himself, replying “(expletive) you, and (expletive) you.” He then claimed to be a warrant officer for the District Attorney’s Office, but named Derek Schmidt, the Kansas Attorney General.

“Farmer stated he did not have time for this and began to walk back to his truck,” the affidavit states. “The detectives “told him to stop and that he was not free to go.” Farmer replied “(expletive) you both.” The detectives told him he was being stopped because he was “driving badly.”

Farmer said he was following a car, “in which the driver held a gun up inside the vehicle, which made him angry.”

The driver of the car that Farmer had been chasing returned to the scene.

He told detectives that he noticed Farmer was “riding the bumper of another vehicle,” passed him, then Farmer started driving behind him with lights on. The man said he didn’t pull over because he didn’t think Farmer was a real police officer, especially after Farmer started cussing at him when stopped at a red light.

The detectives determined that Farmer was lying about being a warrant officer for the district attorney, and they quickly found out that it was not Farmer’s first time pretending to be a cop.

An Eastborough police officer responding to the scene said there had previously been a similar incident with Farmer in the town. The Eastborough police chief arrived at the scene with an email from the sheriff advising that Farmer should be arrested.

The affidavit states that on Aug. 19, a driver called Eastborough police after noticing Farmer’s truck, which had a normal Kansas license plate, was “leap frogging” through traffic on Kellogg with the emergency light and siren on.

That same day, a Derby police sergeant was with family in a personal vehicle near K-15 and Rock Road in Mulvane when they saw Farmer’s truck. The truck had active lights and siren as it weaved through traffic while speeding.

On Sept. 17, a Wichita police officer pulled over Farmer near Oliver and Lincoln as Farmer’s truck had lights and a siren engaged. Their conversation led the WPD officer to believe Farmer was a federal agent.

The officer followed Farmer to a nearby QuikTrip, where the officer realized Farmer was not actually a federal agent and gave him a verbal warning about operating his vehicle like an emergency responder.

About a year earlier, on Sept. 27, 2019, an anonymous report to Derby police involved Farmer’s truck, a “rolling disturbance” and possibly a gun.

A month before that, on Aug. 27, 2019, a man reported that he honked at Farmer’s truck while waiting to turn onto K-15. While on K-15, the truck “brake checked” him while having lights and sirens activated. At around K-15 and 47th South, Farmer yelled at the other driver, who recorded it with his phone and reported it to Wichita police.

Farmer was charged with five counts of false impersonation. Prosecutors agreed to dismiss four of the charges as part of a plea deal in which Farmer admitted to one of the crimes.

False impersonation is a class B non-person misdemeanor, which carries a penalty of up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000. Farmer was sentenced to a year of probation, but he could serve six months in jail if he violates his probation. He was not fined.

In addition, the plea agreement required Farmer to forfeit guns and tactical gear that were seized by the sheriff’s office, as well as an interior cage removed from his pickup truck. He was required to sell his pickup.

Farmer must surrender his Kansas licenses to be a private investigator and a bail enforcement agent. He is barred from working in any security-type job, including as a private investigator, bond agent, fugitive recovery, bail enforcement, private security, corporate security, law enforcement, bounty hunting or any related field.

He is also required to obtain a mental health evaluation and follow all recommendations made by a qualified counselor.

This story was originally published March 23, 2021 at 8:55 PM.