Wichita mayor Brandon Whipple said the city’s police force did not activate the cameras when he tried to yell at a city-sponsored community clean-up event and prevent the mayor from entering. We are asking for a review of our body camera policy.
When Wichita State Police Atlee Vogt turned on the cameras, Whipple said his demeanor went from aggressive to calm.
“I don’t think any police expert thinks it’s appropriate now that they’ve seen the body camera footage and figured out what he was really doing,” Whipple said.
“I’ve always been told that if something happened, the body camera would show it, so when citizens complain, I defend the cops,” Whipple said. It opened my eyes to a blind spot.I legitimately thought his camera was on all the time.”
Local police officer Vogt declined to comment. Lem Moore, who recently resigned as interim police chief, said he hadn’t seen the video, but said he believed it was due to a misunderstanding.The officer has not been disciplined. .
The encounter occurred on Sept. 24, but Whipple didn’t receive body camera video until Tuesday. said he did. He said he worried it could be selectively edited to appear to have abused his position as mayor for police preferential treatment.
“I have a level of privilege in telling what happened that the average citizen does not have, and while other people have probably experienced what I did, they have nothing. It’s just shocking to see and feel firsthand that there isn’t a way to improve it.”
The release of the video takes place as Wichita searches for a new police chief among multiple issues within the department.
Whipple has called for increased surveillance by Wichita police since an Eagle investigation uncovered patterns of racist, sexist and homophobic attitudes among SWAT team members. said he did not believe Vogt acted in retaliation.
“Look, we pay cops extra to not blow people up,” Whipple said. “We actually pay them extra in code of conduct payments,” he said, as part of the Fraternal Order of Police contract, which commissioned officers receive to comply with police policy. You mention $2. “So you should expect better.”
In the video, police officers and city officials question Whipple, a resident of District 3, why she tried to dump trash at a cleanup site in her neighborhood in District 4. We offer free disposal of large items such as mattresses and tires.
Whipple, who makes more than $100,000 a year, said he plans to throw away mattresses and other large items he’s cleared from a vacant house he owns near a cleanup event.
“It’s not that I couldn’t afford to take it to the dump, but the event was on Saturday and I was cleaning out my rental home that day,” Whipple said. “So it makes sense that we stopped doing this. That’s the whole point of cleaning up these neighborhoods. Another reason I was there was to stop by and shake hands with the volunteers and say hello to the people who helped.” I wanted to give out the mayor’s coin because I had helped organize these before and knew how much work it was.”
call to manager
The incident began when Whipple attempted to enter the wrong driveway during a cleaning event at the Mechanics Union near Meridian and Interstate 235. Whipple was wearing his Firefighters Union T-his shirt, smoking a cigar, and driving his Ranger in a battered red Ford.
When Whipple pulled over, Voigt began yelling at him and acting aggressively, telling him to turn around, Whipple said. The mayor then asked Voigt how to attend the event. Whipple said Voigt told him he was “unwelcome”.
The rest of the interaction is captured in a video that runs for 11 minutes and 26 seconds.
Whipple suspects the officers were trying to provoke him into reacting to his attack.
“Hey, I’m being yelled at by one of your cops,” Whipple told Leighton on a body camera video show.
At the time, Moore was transitioning from that role, with new interim chief Troy Livingston taking over the division.
“There’s this guy who doesn’t know who I am and he’s just yelling at me to turn around and he’s incredibly rude, so I’m trying to find a way to report this,” Whipple told Leighton. .
“You can file him (Moore) directly or you can file it with me,” Layton said.
“This guy had a crush on me because I entered the parking lot by mistake. Yeah, he’s here now,” Whipple said. He doesn’t know who I am.”
“I know who you are, Mr. Mayor,” Voigt said. (Later in the video, he admits he didn’t recognize Whipple at first.)
“Cop, Bob Leighton. I think the mayor is going to attend the event,” Leighton said on speakerphone.
“Yes,” Vogt said.
“And you’re with the mayor now,” Leighton said.
“Yes,” Vogt said.
“Can you let him through?” Leighton said.
“I mean, go to the end of the line,” Whipple said.
“I’m afraid I can’t,” Vogt said.
Leighton asked for the officer’s name and said he would speak to Moore and hung up.
In the video, Vogt continues to question the mayor. He asks for Whipple’s phone number and walks off with his driver’s license.
Whipple asks as Vogt walks away with his ID.
“No. We don’t have a bin to unload,” says Vogt. “Everyone is full.”
Vogt walks around with Whipple’s ID for 2 minutes and 18 seconds in the video to find Rebecca Fields, District 4 Community Services Representative.
“Maybe just put us all in a little hot water,” Voigt told her. “The mayor showed up and wouldn’t follow the instructions to come here. He’s already complained to the manager about me. I didn’t recognize him at first.”
“What?” Fields said.
“Well, I told him to turn around and walk away, but he refused and said, ‘I need to ask you a question.’ I said, ‘No, you have to turn around’ and he said to me, ‘This is you being rude to me and me because they are yelling at me.” I said So he called Leighton and complained that I was being rude. thing. ‘”
When Vogt told Fields about the exchange, a new pile of trash was pulled into the parking lot.
“This one just got pulled in,” Voigt said, pointing to the trash can. “He told Leighton that I didn’t know who he was because I didn’t recognize him at first. I was quite distant.”
“I can’t stand him,” Fields said. “Where is he now?”
“He’s wearing a red shirt there. I also told him when he refused to comply, that you weren’t welcome anymore and that you needed to leave.” dictated that it is the same way we have treated others who refused to comply. He said these were part of his rental property which is part of his business.
“What?” Fields said.
“That’s what he said to his manager as well,” Vogt said.
“What?” she asked again.
“That’s what he said.
Whipple said he believes he is entitled to use the neighborhood cleanup. He owns the land he abandoned and he and his wife own the house it was on and are clearing it up so his mother can move in. They are there don’t live
Fields didn’t return her phone calls on Wednesday.
“Did you get a notice from the mayor?” she said. “Because it’s for residential areas only”
“Right. I’m in the area,” said Whipple.
“Why are you throwing your rental away?” she asked.
“No, no, same as mine,” said Whipple.
“It’s for the residents,” Fields said.
“right.”
“So from your house?”
“yes.”
Each area has slightly different rules for cleaning, and it’s unclear if Whipple is eligible to participate. It is also unclear if anyone else has had their eligibility challenged.
Vogt and Whipple parted ways on better terms, the video shows.
“I’m sorry if you thought I was rude,” Vogt told Whipple. “I didn’t recognize you at first. So we’re trying to redirect as quickly and quickly as possible.”
“No, I understand,” said Whipple. “I didn’t understand what was going on. Right.”
“Yes, it is,” said Voigt.
Vogt then allowed Whipple to litter.
no complaints
Speaking about his interaction with Moore, Whipple said he agreed that the officer should not be reprimanded or investigated.
“I saw it as a good opportunity to improve. Maybe this guy was just having a bad day,” Whipple said. “But body cameras show that something a little darker may be going on.”
Whipple said he does not want to file a formal complaint against Voigt because he believes a lesson has been learned. A bigger issue, Whipple said, is the body’s camera policy, which allows cops to turn on their cameras at any time.
“I’ve come to believe that whenever a police officer is interacting with a member of the public, the cameras are on,” Whipple said. and shows that it can be manipulated by police officers. That is unacceptable.”
In a phone interview, Moore said he did not see body camera footage.
Moore said he didn’t speak to Voigt because Whipple said he didn’t want to file a complaint. He wants you to walk loudly without yelling or yelling. ”
Moore said he told Voigt’s boss to speak to an officer. Voigt didn’t follow the rules, he said.
Moore thinks the whole thing is a misunderstanding, made worse by having to deal with irritated people after a long line of cops.
“So I assure you there was a lot of aggression, a lot of frustration from the public,” Moore said. “If you work outside, I think you have to be tough. I think it’s a difference in personality.”
Whipple said he disagrees.
“This is not how our police should treat people,” Whipple said. “I’m usually treated better because of who I am. This time I got a taste of how they treat people they don’t think they’re worth. That was the problem.” You don’t treat someone like this.
