Probation ordered for ex-police sergeant in domestic violence case

A former Wichita police sergeant whose career ended after his then-wife lodged domestic violence complaints against him was ordered Wednesday to serve 12 months of probation on one count of criminal threat.

Dwain Diehl, 49, won’t be able to work in law enforcement again, nor will he be able to own or possess a weapon as a result of the felony conviction. He pleaded guilty to the charge on April 4 after negotiating a deal with prosecutors that dropped a dozen other criminal counts tied to the abuse allegations.

The probation imposed carries an underlying prison sentence of seven months. Diehl could be ordered to serve that time if he violates the terms of his probation, which includes a ban on alcohol and drugs, random drug testing and completion of a batterer intervention evaluation and any recommendations that come with it.

Sedgwick County District Court Judge David Dahl, who presided over Wednesday’s proceedings, warned Diehl in court that he would “almost certainly” send him to prison to serve the seven-month term if he is caught with a weapon.

“Mr. Diehl, we all want you to succeed,” Dahl told him after pronouncing the sentence, which was recommended in the plea agreement.

“Do not disappoint yourself. Do not disappoint these people who are out here supporting you,” he said, referring to friends and family of Diehl’s who had gathered in the courtroom gallery, “and certainly do not disappoint (your former wife).”

In her comments to the court, Diehl’s former wife called him “an evil monster” and a “serial abuser.”

Diehl read a brief, written apology to her, the court and his family during the hearing.

“For the last one and a half years, Mr. Diehl has attempted … to make amends for those actions,” defense attorney Sal Intagliata said.

Authorities arrested and charged Diehl last year with 13 criminal counts — including domestic battery, aggravated battery, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, criminal restraint and criminal threat — after his then-wife went to authorities with accusations of abuse stretching back to 2011. Her allegations included that Diehl had slammed her head into a wall, tried to suffocate her, pointed a gun at her and threatened to have her arrested.

Diehl, at the time, was a Wichita Police Department supervisor. He spent some of his 19-year career as a detective working in the agency’s sex crimes and domestic violence unit.

Sedgwick County Chief Deputy District Attorney Kim Parker said Wednesday in court that the plea deal satisfied an “important” goal of securing a felony conviction against Diehl and designating him a domestic violence offender, which bans him from future employment as a law enforcement officer and owning a firearm.

Diehl now works full time for a freightliner company selling truck parts, Intagliata said in court.

In addition to serving a year of probation, Diehl was ordered to pay $4,000 in restitution to his former wife. The couple divorced in March 2015.

This story was originally published June 1, 2016 at 6:58 PM with the headline "Probation ordered for ex-police sergeant in domestic violence case."