Former Kansas deputy loses license after dating former inmate, lying about it
A former Kansas sheriff’s office deputy was stripped of his law enforcement certification after being in a relationship with a former jail inmate and lying about it to his superiors.
Richard Sandlin worked for the Saline County Sheriff’s Office from Dec. 25, 2023 to Aug. 12, 2024, according to a summary order of revocation from the Kansas Commission on Peace Officers’ Standards and Training that was made public this month.
Before that, he was a police officer in Minneapolis, a city of just under 2,000, in Ottawa County.
Sandlin did not respond to a request for comment on this story.
The summary order of revocation gave this account:
In July 2024, the Saline County Sheriff’s Office received complaints about Sandlin being in a relationship with a former jail inmate. He had transported the inmate on multiple occasions while she was incarcerated at the Saline County Jail.
Saline County undersheriff Brent Melander questioned Sandlin on July 16, 2024 about the alleged relationship. Sandlin said that he knew who the woman was, but did not routinely talk to or have any kind of relationship with her.
Melander spoke with the former inmate on Aug. 8, 2024. Details of the conversation are not known.
Melander spoke with Sandlin again the following day. Sandlin said he had lied to Melander on July 16 and that he was in a dating relationship with the former inmate and had helped her financially.
This story was originally published April 7, 2025 at 4:20 PM.