Police officer’s firing upheld

But city manager says 'conspiracy' theory warrants review

Lawrence City Manager Mike Wildgen will not reverse a city grievance committee’s decision that backed the firing of police officer Stuart “Mike” Peck.

“I upheld the committee’s decision, yes,” Wildgen said Monday.

But, Wildgen said, Peck’s allegation that his firing might have been part of conspiracy to cover for someone within the Police Department who helped suspected drug dealers avoid arrest was being taken seriously enough to be investigated.

“We are proceeding with a review of that issue,” Wildgen said. He declined to comment further.

Police Chief Ron Olin confirmed an investigation was under way but also declined to elaborate.

The Kansas Attorney General’s Office, which oversees the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, also declined comment Monday.

Peck, 38, was fired Feb. 10 after Douglas County District Court Judge Michael Malone ruled Peck misled the court in an affidavit used in obtaining a search warrant for a drug case. Prosecutors later dismissed the case.

Since Malone’s ruling, at least 24 cases involving Peck as a key witness have been dismissed. Peck has denied any intentional wrongdoing.

In a meeting last month with a city grievance committee, Peck revealed he and a confidential informant had learned that an out-of-town drug ring had set up shop in Lawrence. Shortly after Peck filed a memo with his superiors and the department’s drug enforcement unit, the drug ring suddenly and inexplicably folded.

Peck said drug ring members told his informant they had been tipped that police were aware of their presence.

His troubles with the department began shortly after he filed a memo about the possible leak with Olin, Peck said. Malone’s ruling soon followed.

During the grievance hearing, Peck said Olin dismissed his concerns because Olin considered Peck’s informant to be unreliable. Peck, however, argued his informant’s tips had been consistently accurate.

Peck said he planned to appeal Wildgen’s ruling to the Lawrence City Commission.

Wildgen said that wouldn’t do much good.

“Any personnel decision I make — I inform the City Commission of it, and they review it,” he said. “But their review is limited to policy issues that may have been involved in the decision.”