Wichita police secretary who leaked classified crime details to family gets diversion
A Wichita police employee criminally charged with leaking classified information to a family member has entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office.
If Mia Turner successfully completes the diversion program, prosecutors will dismiss her felony computer crime case in a year, court records show.
If she fails, the DA’s Office can revoke the agreement and take the case to trial.
Turner, 50, was charged after a detective listening in on jail phone calls from a Sedgwick County inmate in January discovered that the longtime police employee had given details about the inmate’s case to his ex-wife while the investigation was still active. The leaked information included a photo Turner took of a confidential police email that she sent to the ex-wife, who is related to her through marriage, that discussed what led to the inmate’s arrest.
She also accessed and watched video crime evidence related to the case, an affidavit released by the court says.
Turner had access to the classified email and other case evidence because she was serving as secretary to then-Deputy Chief Lemuel Moore, who is now the Wichita Police Department’s interim chief. The email at the center of the case included a confidentiality notice warning recipients to not share it, the affidavit says.
Asked by detectives why she disclosed details about an active investigation, Turner told them she “wasn’t thinking of it like that.” She also told detectives she didn’t remember sharing the photographed email and looked at the videos because she thought the inmate might “use her name to help him in his case,” the affidavit says.
Turner worked for the Wichita Police Department for more than 14 years when the situation surfaced. She is also a former Wichita school board member.
District Judge Kevin O’Connor signed off on the diversion agreement on June 16. Turner was charged in March.
