When your abuser is the law: Sexual and domestic violence persistent in Kansas law enforcement

A Beacon analysis shows that 34.5% of all law enforcement decertifications in Kansas were due to domestic or sexual violence, higher than any other reason.


Every year, dozens of law enforcement officers in Kansas lose their certifications. The reasons vary and include failure to complete training, newfound disabilities and drug use.

But one reason stands out above the rest: domestic and sexual violence.

In the past two years, 34.5% of all law enforcement decertifications in Kansas were due to domestic or sexual violence, higher than any other decertification reason, according to a Kansas City Beacon analysis of decertification data.

An officer is decertified when charged and convicted of a crime. The problem, according to experts, is that many police domestic violence cases in the U.S. never reach the legal system.

Often, a survivor’s only option is to report their abuser to the officer’s own department. And because police departments are tight-knit, survivors fear backlash from their abuser’s colleagues.

Read more: https://thebeacon.media/stories/2021/07/15/domestic-violence-kansas/
(Kansas City - The Beacon)