Ex-Overland Park officer under investigation over ‘truthfulness’ loses policing license
A longtime Overland Park officer lost her police certification after the department opened an internal investigation over her handling of a sexual battery case.
Erin Brunkhorst was with the Overland Park Police Department from February 2006 to November 2023.
She was assigned to investigate a sexual battery case, according to documents from the Kansas Commission on Peace Officers’ Standards and Training, or CPOST.
Questions arose regarding Brunkhorst’s “actions and communications regarding the case, including whether she violated the agency’s honesty and truthfulness policy,” CPOST said.
The department opened an internal investigation and CPOST launched its own case. In an email to The Star, Brunkhorst said disagreements with outside parties about how to best handle the case she was on had led to these investigations.
She did not appear for a scheduled interview with the state agency, which revoked her police license.
Brunkhorst said she informed CPOST “from the beginning that I had no further details to provide than what was already provided. They still insisted I travel to Wichita for an in-person meeting to which I declined.”
The City of Overland Park does not comment on confidential personnel matters, including internal investigations, spokeswoman Meg Ralph said. Brunkhorst’s open cases, including the sexual battery case, were reassigned to another detective.
Twenty-seven officers have lost their certification so far this year, according to CPOST’s website.
This story was originally published June 26, 2024 at 6:00 AM.
