Johnson County mayor’s perjury arrest came after she used a false identity, police say
Shawnee Mayor Michelle Distler was charged with felony perjury after she allegedly filed a Kansas Open Meetings Act complaint using the name of a “watchdog” without his permission, court records show.
The investigation began March 10 when the so-called watchdog, whose name is redacted in the charging documents, told Shawnee police he received an email confirming he filed an online complaint with the state Attorney General’s Office. But he had not.
If someone used his information on the complaint, he said, it was “done without his authorization,” police said.
An investigator with the Johnson County District Attorney’s Office then obtained an IP address associated with the complaint, which led them to Distler, according to a seven-page affidavit released Tuesday.
Distler, 47, was released on a $2,500 bond from the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office last Wednesday. Her first court appearance is scheduled for Jan. 5.
Police searched Distler’s home in June and seized electronic devices, including an iPad she said was involved in the incident.
In a July interview, Distler said that an email chain that included four City Council members had formed. After two members responded to emails, she believed the open meetings act had been violated, which she said made her want to file a complaint.
In the criminal complaint, four City Council members are listed as apparent witnesses: Eric Jenkins, Kurt Knappen, Mike Kemmling and Tammy Thomas. The investigator did not specify who was allegedly included on the email chain.
An investigator noted there were “several major discrepancies” in Distler’s timeline of how the complaint was filed.
She wanted to report the possible violation, but feared making it herself, she told police. So she first signed it as “anonymous/his (redacted) information,” because she wanted the watchdog to get a copy of the complaint.
Distler claimed she tried to file the complaint, but got an error, so she deleted the word “anonymous,” according to the affidavit. She acknowledged: “I should have just exited out of the whole damn thing.”
The mayor went to run errands and closed out of the iPad she was using without sending the second version of the complaint, she told police. By the time she returned, someone else, whose name is redacted in court records, had used the device.
When she realized the complaint had been sent, she reached out to the city’s attorney for advice, police said she told them.
“I don’t know how it got sent, but it’s my fault,” she said, according to charging documents.
She also said she went directly to District Attorney Steve Howe and told him “what happened.”
The watchdog whose information was used on the complaint had submitted Kansas Open Meetings Act violations before, the mayor told police. She figured he would want to know a “legitimate” violation had occurred.
When filling out such a complaint, the bottom reads: “By signing my name below, I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.”
The criminal complaint lists more than 30 Johnson County officials and residents as witnesses to the alleged incident. Among the names are the current City Council members, along with some former ones — many of whom previously told The Star they were not sure what the charge stemmed from or why they were included on the list.
Howe is also named as a witness. His office, which brought the charge against the mayor, has refused to provide details. A spokeswoman declined to comment Tuesday.
Distler’s attorney, Robin Fowler, is also named as a witness. He did not immediately return a request for comment. But he previously said the mayor “has cooperated fully in this investigation, and is disappointed that charges have been filed.”
Among the other apparent witnesses are former Republican Kansas state Sen. Mary Pilcher-Cook, Shawnee City Attorney Ellis Rainey, plus personnel from 911 dispatch, the Johnson County crime lab and the state Attorney General’s Office.
Another named witness, Ray Erlichman, the author of the blog Shawnee Ray’s Ramblings, declined to comment on the case.
“Since I am listed as a witness and face the possibility of having to testify in court on this matter I do not think it is appropriate for me to make any statements to the media regarding this matter,” he said.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
This story was originally published December 8, 2020 at 5:28 PM.
