State records second human West Nile case

Topeka – Kansas, which recorded the nation’s first human West Nile virus case this year, had a second case confirmed Thursday by state health officials.

A 40-year-old Rice County resident developed symptoms in June and has recovered, Kansas Department of Health and Environment spokeswoman Sharon Watson said.

“It was a case of West Nile fever, which is the milder form of the illness,” she said.

In mid-May, a 51-year-old Douglas County resident was found to have West Nile. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it was the first human case reported this year.

Health officials declined to release the gender or hometown of the victims because of patient confidentiality concerns.

KDHE also said the virus was found in mosquitoes in Trego County at the end of June, marking the first time infected mosquitoes have been found in Kansas this year. Last year, the first infected mosquitoes were found in mid-July.

Former officer acquitted on stripping charges

Platte City, Mo. – A former Parkville police officer was acquitted of making a woman disrobe to avoid a speeding ticket.

On Wednesday, a Platte County jury found Richard D. Cullen, 37, of Kansas City, innocent of a felony charge of acceding to corruption by a public servant.

The charge stemmed from a traffic stop on June 9, 2004, when Cullen pulled over a 20-year-old woman for speeding.

The woman claimed Cullen had her follow him to a secluded area, ordered her to raise her shirt, then told her to disrobe from the waist down and bend over. She said she was then allowed to dress and drive away without a ticket.

According to court records, the officer told Platte County sheriff’s deputies that the woman talked him into letting her out of the ticket by taking her clothes off and sitting naked on his police car.

“He’s a good cop who made a bad mistake and should not be made a felon for it,” defense attorney Bill Odle told jurors during closing arguments.

Cullen resigned from the police department two days after the incident and one day after being suspended. Officials said he had been with the Parkville Police Department for less than a year.