Complaint No. 1778854627 - 2048736376

A police officer (Tim) had someone pulled over just a few houses down from mine. My boyfriend at the time and I were at a friend’s house nearby. As I drove home, I had to pass the traffic stop to reach my driveway. While I was carefully going around him, Officer Tim suddenly stepped toward my moving vehicle. I had to swerve slightly to avoid hitting him and pulled into my driveway.
He immediately left the traffic stop and rushed into my driveway behind me. By the time he reached us, my boyfriend (who was in the backseat holding the door closed because of a large sandblast cabinet we were transporting) and I were already out of the car and unloading the cabinet.
Officer Tim got out of his patrol car yelling at us to stop. He demanded my boyfriend’s driver’s license. When my boyfriend said he didn’t have one, Tim immediately began arresting him — even though I was the one driving and it was my vehicle. He ignored everything we tried to explain.
He ordered me to stand by his patrol car while he arrested my boyfriend. I asked if I could get a cigarette while I waited, and he said yes. The moment I opened my car door and reached for the pack in my purse, he rushed over, grabbed the pack from my hands, handcuffed me, and placed me in the back of his patrol car. He then began searching my vehicle.
Anything my boyfriend had emptied from his pockets as we pulled into the driveway was now considered “mine” because it was in my car. My children woke up for school and came outside, extremely upset by what was happening. They became even more distressed by how aggressively Officer Tim was acting. He yelled at my oldest son to get back in the house simply because he was crying and asking what was going on.
Once another officer arrived, they transported my boyfriend and me to Bentley City Hall for questioning in separate rooms. We were held there for over an hour. Officer Tim repeatedly became angry with me during the interrogation. He asked, “Do you ever want to see your kids again?” and demanded, “Tell me where you got the crank.” I had never heard the term “crank” before in my life. I knew my boyfriend had a past with meth, but I had no idea it had other names. While I’m no angel and have partied in the past, I was never involved with meth or hard drugs and had very little knowledge about them at the time.
Tim kept accusing me of “playing dumb,” growing increasingly aggressive. He slammed his hands on the table, rolled his eyes, raised his voice, and tried to intimidate me. I was crying uncontrollably, repeatedly telling him the drugs weren’t mine and that I didn’t know anything about them. My boyfriend, who was being questioned in another room, also told the officers the items were his. We both wrote statements to that effect, but Tim dismissed them.
I offered to take a UA (urine analysis), a lie detector test — anything he needed — to prove my innocence. He continued calling me a liar. As we were being taken from Bentley City Hall to Sedgwick County Jail, he asked if I was still willing to take a UA. I immediately said yes. He never followed through, knowing I would have passed.
We were booked into jail, and the charges were eventually dropped. We were released.
In March 2023, the charges were unexpectedly reinstated. I was told I could be facing up to 10 years. My court-appointed attorney advised me to take a plea deal, saying that because I had a completely clean record and had never been in trouble before, it was the safest option. He warned that fighting it could result in much more time. With no prior experience in the system, I trusted his advice and took the plea. I received one year of probation and was required to complete a drug and alcohol assessment.
I passed the assessment but had to pay $186 upfront before it would be sent to my probation officer. I also faced nearly $700 in fines, plus the cost of any UAs required during probation.
About a year later, after my case was closed and I was off probation, the judge said I could have my purse and cellphone returned. I contacted Bentley City Hall many times — leaving messages with the clerk and with Officer Tim — but received no response. I finally spoke with him in person when he came by looking for my ex-boyfriend to serve papers. He claimed he had received my messages and had just been very busy, promising to return my belongings ASAP. He also asked if I knew where my ex was (we had broken up by then). I did not.
Now, in 2026 — nearly five years later — I still do not have my cellphone or purse. A couple of months ago, my mom and I went to City Hall to speak with Officer Tim about an unrelated matter involving our elderly neighbor. I brought up my phone again, explaining that I lost my 18-year-old son last July and that the phone contains irreplaceable photos of him. He assured me he would get it to me right away.
Months later, I still have nothing.
Officer Tim has had my personal property for nearly five years.