Wichita police officer accused of threatening rental car clerk found not guilty at trial
A Sedgwick County jury has acquitted a Wichita police officer of one count of misdemeanor disorderly conduct in a Dec. 2, 2021, off-duty incident where he allegedly became enraged, was verbally aggressive and threatened a rental car counter clerk at Eisenhower National Airport who refused to rent him a vehicle with a relative’s vouchers and credit card he didn’t have in his possession.
Jurors found Officer Andrew Barnett not guilty of the charge Tuesday, Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office spokesman Dan Dillon said by email. The trial started Monday.
The case is one of two in which Barnett was criminally charged by the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office last year. In the other, Barnett is accused of one count of misdemeanor battery for allegedly slapping a handcuffed prisoner who was strapped into the back seat of a patrol car on May 14, 2021, following an escape attempt.
District Judge Kevin Mark Smith set a Jan. 30 trial date in that matter, Dillon said.
Barnett pleaded not guilty to the charges in both cases last February. He had been an employee of the Wichita Police Department for five years when authorities announced the allegations.
This story was originally published January 10, 2023 at 6:26 PM.
