Yard sign incident decried by Kansas GOP was not assault, Prairie Village police say
Prairie Village police said Tuesday they do not believe a former Kansas GOP committeeman was assaulted for promoting President Donald Trump and other Republican candidates on yard signs.
Police were called to the Mission Hills home of Dwight Sutherland around 10:30 p.m. on Oct. 12, according to Prairie Village Police Department Sergeant Adam Taylor.
Initially, Taylor said, officers were told that Sutherland had been run over by a vehicle. Additionally, a car and several campaign signs had been damaged by a car driving onto Sutherland’s yard.
Though police initially investigated the incident as an aggravated assault and criminal damage to property, Taylor said, by Tuesday police were no longer investigating an assault.
“The victim was contacted by the vehicle however not in a criminal intent type of way,” Taylor said. In other words, he said, evidence does not indicate that the driver intentionally hit Sutherland with the car.
Furthermore, Taylor said, although Sutherland told police his political signs had been stolen in the past there is no evidence at this point indicating the attack was politically motivated. Police, he said, are still investigating whether the damage was intentional.
“(Sutherland) reported that day that the signs had been taken previously and he’s just assuming that that night is related but we cannot confirm that that’s related to each other,” Taylor said.
Sutherland declined to comment on the case, citing the ongoing investigation.
Kansas Republicans have decried the incident as politically motivated and an example of Republicans being unable to safely express their views.
In a statement, Monday, 3rd District Congressional candidate Amanda Adkins called it “despicable” that a person would be targeted for their political views. Her campaign asked for anyone with information to contact the police department.
“I urge my opponent to join me in condemning this violence and calling for an end to trespassing, theft, and vandalism perpetrated against those who chose to display political yard signs,” she said.
In a statement to The Sentinel last week, Kansas GOP chairman Mike Kuckleman said that as Democrats have moved to the left “it has become dangerous for Republicans to express their support for Republican candidates.”
Adkins’ communication director, Matthew Trail, said in a statement to Tuesday that the original statement was based on media reports at the time and that the campaign was unaware of “any new findings of the investigation.”
This story was originally published October 20, 2020 at 2:50 PM.
