A Lawrence Police officer will undergo a court-ordered domestic-battery program and alcohol evaluation as punishment for an April 13 incident in which he allegedly spit in his wife’s face and slammed a door into her knee.

Officially, however, David L. Hummell, 40, will not be labeled a domestic batterer. The reason is that he pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of disorderly conduct — a distinction that will keep him from automatically having to turn in his badge.

It’s common for defendants charged with first-time domestic battery to have the charges reduced or dismissed through the diversion process, but Kansas law holds police officers to a higher standard.

Under state law, police officers must have their certification revoked if they’re convicted of domestic battery or enter a diversion program for domestic battery. Prosecutors were aware of that fact when handling plea negotiations in Hummell’s case, said Assistant Dist. Atty. Dan Dunbar, who accepted Hummell’s plea last week.

Dunbar said his handling of Hummell’s case was consistent with the way he handled other cases in which a defendant had more at stake than just a criminal conviction.

For example, he said, if the defendant is a student who stands to lose financial aid or a member of the military who might be discharged if convicted, prosecutors take that into account.

“I think justice was served,” Dunbar said. “The individual was convicted of a crime. The probation period includes conditions that will help to ensure that the person doesn’t re-offend.”

In addition to the alcohol evaluation and domestic-battery program, Hummell will have to complete 50 hours of community service and spend a year on probation. Hummell is still employed with the Police Department and remains on administrative leave, said Sgt. Mike Pattrick, a department spokesman.

Pattrick said personnel rules prohibited him from saying whether any decisions had been made about Hummell’s employment.

According to an affidavit made public Wednesday, police were called to a burglary in progress about 2:30 a.m. April 13 after a witness reported David Hummell was trying to force his way into the home. Upon arrival, they found him in the driveway gathering personal belongings.

Police interviewed Hummell’s wife, who told them he’d spat in her face and slammed a door that struck her in the knee. He later admitted spitting in her face, according to the affidavit.

Spitting on someone meets the definition of battery under Kansas law.

Dunbar previously has told the Journal-World it was his job to convict defendants of the crime they committed — not to allow them to plead guilty to lesser charges. If the penalty for a charged crime seems too stiff, he has said, the state should try to address that by recommending a lighter sentence — not accepting a watered-down plea.

But this case is different, Dunbar said, because there was nothing the state could have recommended at sentencing that would have lightened the impact of a domestic-battery conviction on Hummell’s career.

Neither Hummell nor his attorney could be reached for comment Wednesday.