Kansas Highway Patrol leaders abruptly resign, one amid domestic violence allegations

The two highest-ranking Kansas Highway Patrol officials are abruptly leaving the agency amid revelations that one of them is connected to an alleged domestic violence incident in December.

Gov. Laura Kelly announced Thursday that Col. Mark Bruce and Lt. Col. Randy Moon had both decided to leave the agency. Kelly named Shawnee County Sheriff Herman Jones as the Highway Patrol’s new leader.

The shuffle came as an anonymous email making several allegations against Highway Patrol leadership had begun to circulate in the Statehouse. One of the allegations centered on Moon’s purported involvement in a December 2018 domestic violence incident in Missouri.

On Friday, Kelly spokeswoman Ashley All said Bruce and Moon had been placed on administrative leave and then submitted their resignations, effective April 6.

“We cannot comment on these personnel issues except to say that information came to light regarding some longstanding management issues at the Highway Patrol and as a result it became clear new leadership was needed,” All said.

Reached by phone Friday, Bruce did not want to comment. A reporter left a voicemail for Moon.

In response to a request for documents related to any incidents involving Randy Moon, Excelsior Springs, Mo., police provided a case report on a Dec. 26 domestic assault. The names of the suspect and victim are redacted from the report.

At 12:13 a.m., police responded to a domestic assault call at The Elms Resort in Excelsior Springs, a hotel and spa about 30 miles northeast of Kansas City.

Officers were told a female victim was in a hotel room and the male suspect was a Kansas state trooper, according to the case report.

When Excelsior Springs police went to the room, the man was no longer there. The woman “held her left elbow as if it were injured,” one officer said in his report. Another officer noted what appeared to be a knot on the left side of her face.

The woman said she was sorry the officers were there and that she did not want any trouble, the report says.

She told police that she and her boyfriend had had “too much to drink” and got into an argument. While arguing, he tossed her, the report said.

Excelsior Springs police gave the woman a domestic abuse pamphlet and left at her request, the report says. At 2:03 a.m., one of the officers called Kansas Highway Patrol dispatch. The details of that conversation, as reported by the officer, are redacted from the report.

At 11:35 a.m., the captain of the Excelsior Springs Police Department spoke to the man by phone. The man explained that he and the woman had argued over him giving a waitress a $100 tip, which she thought was too large, the report says.

He said the fight was verbal and he left to get away from the situation, the report says. He then put the woman on speaker phone. She denied that anything physical happened. She denied being tossed by the man and that she had a facial injury, the report says.

The investigation was closed through an exceptional clearance, meaning the woman did not file a report. The man was not arrested, according to the report.

Kelly announced the leadership change at the Highway Patrol in a news release that contained no “thank you for your service” plaudits that are typical when officials leave on good terms. Only two sentences are devoted to Bruce and Moon’s departure.

“Jones will replace Colonel Mark Bruce who decided to leave the agency. Lieutenant Colonel Randy Moon, the assistant superintendent, also decided to leave the agency,” the release said.

Moon had been with the Highway Patrol since 1986, starting at a duty station in Wellington. From 1996 to 2000 he was part of a team that provided security for Gov. Bill Graves.

The departure also marks a dramatic change for Bruce, who had appeared to survive the transition from a Republican to a Democratic administration. Kelly announced on Dec. 20 that she had decided to retain Bruce as superintendent.

Kelly said then that Bruce had effectively led the Highway Patrol in recent years and was a strong advocate for law enforcement officers.

“I have no doubt he will continue to put the safety of Kansans first while also representing the needs of the Kansas Highway Patrol,” Kelly said in December.

Bruce had been with the Kansas Highway Patrol since 1989, and had risen through the ranks. Gov. Sam Brownback appointed him superintendent in 2015, and he then named Moon assistant superintendent.

Bruce gave the impression in December that he planned to remain with the Highway Patrol for a long time.

“I look forward to partnering with Governor-elect Kelly in the coming years to keep our families safe,” Bruce said then.

The Highway Patrol will now be led by Jones, who has been in law enforcement for 40 years. Jones has been Shawnee County Sheriff since 2012 and has been twice-elected.

“He has worked in municipal, county, and state law enforcement and he has been a leader in law enforcement training and education. Sheriff Jones is the right person to lead the Kansas Highway Patrol at this critical time,” Kelly said.

Although Jones will begin serving as superintendent in April, he will eventually face confirmation by the Kansas Senate.

Since taking office in January, Kelly has faced some challenges with nominees. A number of Republicans are opposing her nominee to lead the Kansas Department of Commerce and her nominee to the Kansas Court of Appeals withdrew after partisan and profanity-laced tweets from him surfaced.

This story was originally published March 29, 2019 at 3:13 PM with the headline "Kansas Highway Patrol leaders abruptly resign, one amid domestic violence allegations."