Fired for allegedly beating an inmate, former sergeant to coach at Kansas high school
A former sergeant at the Wyandotte County Adult Detention Center, fired after he was charged with allegedly beating a handcuffed inmate, will now coach soccer at Bonner Springs High School.
David Toland, who is still facing felony and misdemeanor charges in the September 2019 incident at the detention center, has been appointed assistant coach for the school’s soccer team, district spokeswoman Kaela Williams said over email.
Toland has served on the school board for Bonner Springs and Edwardsville since 2013.
“Board members cannot be employed by the district, so the hiring process is not yet complete due to his active status on the board,” Williams said.
In 2000, Toland started the soccer program at Bonner Springs High School, Williams said.
On the district employment application, applicants are asked if they have ever been “arrested, charged or convicted of a criminal offense other than a minor traffic violation,” Williams said. That information is then considered during the “candidate review and interview process.”
If an employee was convicted of a crime, Williams said, their standing within the district would be evaluated.
“His years of experience as a coach, many of those years at Bonner Springs High School and with our Unified Sports program, made him the best candidate for the assistant coach position,” Williams said.
This will be the 31st year Toland has coached soccer in the community, he said in Facebook messages.
“I am a firm believer that coaching is one of the most valuable ways to help youth within the community develop into good people,” Toland said. “I want any parents that have concerns to come talk to me.”
In 2018, the Unified Special Olympics’ “Team Kansas” he coached took a silver medal at the 2018 Special Olympics USA games in Seattle, he said. He also coached the Sporting KC Special Olympic team to third place in their bracket at the Unified Cup in Chicago.
“I coach for two reasons,” Toland said. “To create good soccer players and help guide young athletes into becoming good people.”
Bill Faflick, executive director of the Kansas State High School Activities Association, said school districts generally make hiring decisions based on the district’s policies. The association, he said, is not involved with the hiring process for coaches: It’s entirely up to the schools.
The organization does conduct training for coaches, including rules meetings and CPR training, once coaches are hired, Faflick said.
He added that any parents with any concerns should follow the chain of command.
“Usually start with the coach,” Faflick said. “Or, moving up, the athletic director or the building principal. After that comes the superintendent or board of education.”
Toland was charged in November after he was accused of punching an inmate and slamming their head against an elevator door while transporting them from a drug search, according to a criminal affidavit. Wyandotte County prosecutors charged him with felony aggravated battery and misdemeanor mistreatment of a confined person.
Toland was not arrested or booked into jail when he was charged. His next court hearing is set for Aug. 7 at 10 a.m.
His defense attorney did not respond to request for comment for this story.
Another sheriff’s office employee, Deputy Marcus Johnson, was also charged with mistreatment of a confined person and misdemeanor assault in a separate incident during the same search.
Wyandotte County Sheriff Donald Ash announced his plans to hire an outside trainer to work with officers on the department’s use of force policy.
In an April news conference, Ash called the incident “disheartening and repugnant.” He said he would update the department’s policy in the hopes of preventing similar incidents in the future.
At the same news conference, Ash announced that The Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, paid the inmate a $50,000 out-of-court settlement.
The sheriff’s office did not respond to request for comment on the status of those policy changes.
This story was originally published July 17, 2020 at 1:29 PM.
