Kansas City, Kansas, officer who appeared ‘high’ while on-duty loses police license
A Kansas City, Kansas, police officer who appeared “high” while responding to a call last year has lost his state police certification.
James Shepherd started with the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department in January 2018.
According to court documents filed in a federal lawsuit in October, Shepherd responded to a child custody dispute in January 2023.
“Shepherd appeared to be under the influence of some type of substance as he had to lean on the wall for support, was speaking so fast that Plaintiffs could hardly understand him, his face was flush, he was blinking his eyes at an unusual frequency, was slurring his words, and just generally acting strange,” the lawsuit alleged.
A video of the encounter was posted on social media.
Criminal charges were declined and the lawsuit was dismissed in January.
The Kansas Commission on Peace Officers’ Standards and Trainings, or CPOST, which certifies officers in the state, received a complaint about Shepherd, which included the recording.
The commission arranged an interview with Shepherd to determine if any prescription drugs impaired his ability as a police officer. Shepherd’s attorney then told the commission he would not be attending the interview, according to CPOST documents.
The commission can withdraw an officer’s license if they do not cooperate with an investigation. Shepherd’s certification was revoked May 9, records show.
Shepherd was placed on leave in July 2023, said Nancy Chartrand, a spokeswoman for KCKPD. He has not worked in a law enforcement capacity since then.
He was cleared of wrongdoing in the January 2023 call for service, according to Chartrand. The department also conducted an investigation into a separate incident and reported those findings to CPOST and the Wyandotte County District Attorney’s Office. The DA declined to prosecute, Chartrand said.
Nikki Richardson, co-founder of Justice for Wyandotte, said the organization was aware of the January 2023 incident.
“Justice for Wyandotte has continued to affirm that KCKPD should continually be held accountable, especially at any point in time where a law enforcement officer isn’t fit to police,” she said.
Richardson said she believed the revocation by CPOST was the appropriate response.
“I would hate for the police officer to leave here and go somewhere else and equally do damage,” she said.
This story was originally published May 30, 2024 at 1:10 PM.
