‘I’m tired’: Interim Wichita Police Chief Lem Moore says he will retire by October

Wichita Police Interim Chief Lem Moore will retire by October, the 31-year veteran of the department told reporters at City Hall on Tuesday.

“At this point in time, I can officially say I plan on retiring in a few weeks,” Moore said.

Moore previously told The Eagle he was considering applying for the permanent chief position, but on Tuesday he said he is no longer interested.

“I haven’t had a vacation in two years, and I’m tired,” he said. “I was looking at possibly the beginning of October. I mean, maybe a little bit sooner. It just depends on how much motivation I continue to have. ... I’m ready to start that new chapter, and so I’m at 31 years. I’m excited.”

“I want it to happen tomorrow. However, I want to stay and fulfill my obligation as interim chief. However, as the deadline keeps continuing to get pushed back, that makes it more and more complicated for my decision to want to stay.”

Moore, 53, took over the Wichita Police Department on March 1, when former Chief Gordon Ramsay resigned to move back to Minnesota and run for sheriff in St. Louis County. The department has been embroiled in controversy, much of it stemming from decisions made before he was named interim chief.

Ramsay gave notice last December. City officials have signaled that it could be several months before a permanent chief is selected. Moore said he does not know who will lead the department when he retires. City Manager Robert Layton said the city plans to name a new interim chief after Moore retires and could hire a permanent chief as early as the end of October.

Moore announced his retirement outside the City Council chambers Tuesday immediately following the council’s approval of a contract with Jensen Hughes for a cultural assessment of bias in the department. The assessment was ordered after SWAT officers sent racist, sexist and homophobic text messages and received little punishment initially.

After The Eagle reported about the messages and the department’s response, Moore ordered another investigation into the officers involved and recommended additional discipline, including suspensions. Layton then increased the number of days the officers were suspended based on the severity of the messages, he said.

City officials and activists criticized Moore last month after Eagle reporting showed he promoted Justin Rapp to detective. Rapp faces a federal lawsuit filed by the family of Andrew Finch, an unarmed 28-year-old father who shot and killed by Rapp during a hoax hostage situation.

Moore reportedly told elected officials and the city manager that there was nothing in Rapp’s personnel file that could deny him a promotion. Weeks after Rapp was promoted, a leaked document surfaced showing Rapp had been denied a promotion previously because he said he planned to tell Finch’s family to “get over it” if he ever saw them in public.

Moore would not directly answer questions about the Rapp promotion on Tuesday. He said he thinks the Jensen Hughes assessment will empower future chiefs to deviate from policies and procedures he has said prevented him from skipping Rapp for a promotion.

“This third party is going to allow that ability for a leader to be able to utilize public opinion, possibly, utilize the emotions and feelings involved in decision making,” Moore said. “But the way it stands right now, with the buildup of 20 to 30 years of policies and procedures that probably haven’t been changed in a long time, you are only allowed to make those decisions based within those confinements.”

Moore said he’s proud of the work he has done since being named interim chief. But he also voiced frustration about not being able to communicate freely to the public because of city policies and a contract with the Fraternal Order of Police.

“As a chief of police, you really don’t get to have a voice in some of the things that you do,” Moore said. “Because you have to stay within the lines of administrative regulations that’s within the (FOP) contract. So the message that sometimes gets delivered isn’t the message that you would like, but you’re unable to speak out. It makes it a little bit more complicated, but in my mind, I’ve been a very fair chief over the last six months, and I think people’s lives are a little bit better off because of it.”

This story was originally published August 23, 2022 at 12:18 PM.