Former Wichita police officer loses certification after pleading guilty to misconduct
A former Wichita police officer was stripped of his law enforcement certification last month by the Kansas Commission on Peace Officers’ Standards and Training after he was charged with helping a woman avoid arrest in 2019, state records show.
Documents show Matt Powell was charged by the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office in June 2019 with three misdemeanors.
He was placed on unpaid administrative leave after the charges were filed, police spokesperson Charley Davidson said in a news release. He pleaded not guilty to all three charges.
Powell later pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor count of official misconduct ahead of his jury trial. As a result, a judge placed Powell on probation for a year. Powell agreed to give up his law enforcement certification as a condition of the probation, court records show.
Powell had served with the department for over seven years. His employment ended on Feb. 25, 2020, according to the city of Wichita website.