Three Wyandotte County officers charged in crash and fourth charged with buying sex
Wyandotte County District Attorney Mark Dupree announced charges against four law enforcement officers in two separate cases.
One case involved allegations that a police officer paid for sex while on duty. The second case involved a 2019 hit-and-run crash that injured Wyandotte County citizens.
Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department Officer Travis Toms was charged with buying sexual relations. Dupree said that Toms was on duty and in uniform when the alleged crime took place on Nov. 16. He faces up to one year in jail.
Toms has been with the police department since 2010. He was placed on administrative leave on Dec. 15, said Nancy Chartrand, a spokeswoman for the police department.
The second case involved a Dec. 13, 2019, crash on Interstate 70. Michael D. Simmons Jr. was charged with leaving the scene of an accident, a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail.
“Once the vehicle was identified as a Unified Government vehicle assigned to the Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Department, an effort was made to withhold information concerning the identity and the location of the driver,” Dupree said.
Simmons was an investigator with the sheriff’s office where he has been employed since 2008.
“There were victims in this crash and those victims who are citizens of our county have been in contact with our office,” Dupree said. “They too desire to see justice done. There was indeed property damage as well.”
Sarah G. Panjada and Andrew J. Carver were charged with official misconduct and interference in connection with the crash.
Panjada was a detective with the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department. She left the agency on Feb. 22, 2020.
Carver was a major with the Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Office where he has been employed since 2004.
Dupree said additional charges potentially involving impairment could have been filed against Simmons, but the investigation was obstructed.
The district attorney’s office also announced the launch of the Community Integrity Unit at Wednesday’s conference.
“The Wyandotte County District Attorney’s Office believes that transparency and trust should be at the center of every Wyandotte County law enforcement agency,” Dupree said. “To further promote these values in our community, citizens now can voice any complaints involving Wyandotte County law enforcement to an independent investigative arm in the Wyandotte County District Attorney’s Office.”
MORE2 began advocating for a unit in 2019 following a series of allegations involving sexual misconduct and the wrongful conviction of Lamonte McIntyre, who spent 23 years in prison for a double murder he did not commit.
“MORE2 is elated this is finally coming to fruition,” the organization said in a statement Wednesday. “It is not an end, but at least a beginning step toward justice.”
The Community Integrity Unit may be reached at 913-573-8100.
This story was originally published January 13, 2021 at 5:46 PM.
