The Douglas County Judicial and Law Enforcement Center, 111 E. 11th St.

The Lawrence Police Department collected large amounts of evidence showing that one of its officers beat a fellow officer, chained her inside a dog kennel and choked her until she blacked out, court documents show.

According to the documents, which are part of a more than $500,000 lawsuit against the city, that evidence was used to arrest then-Officer William Burke, search his home and seize his property.

However, for reasons the city has not explained, police department leaders did not fire Burke, but instead allowed him to resign.

Among the evidence the city says investigators collected are text messages from Burke to the female officer.

“I’ve never hit a girl before. I beat you,” one message read.

“I’m not sure next time it won’t keep going,” read another.

The Journal-World previously reported Burke filed a lawsuit against the City of Lawrence in September. The lawsuit is seeking $525,000 in damages and claims Burke was illegally searched and defamed.

In addition, Burke claims he resigned from his position as an officer after a Lawrence police captain called his attorney and said he would be given a “favorable disposition” regarding criminal charges if he were to step down.

Both the city and Douglas County District Attorney Charles Branson deny that allegation.

“We were never a party to any agreement or offer to that extent whatsoever,” Branson said.

Ultimately, however, no criminal charges were filed against Burke and he is still licensed to work as a police officer in Kansas.

In 2015, Branson’s office said there was insufficient evidence to file charges. When asked on Friday what evidence LPD shared with his office, he declined to offer additional comment, citing the ongoing lawsuit.

The city’s answer to Burke’s lawsuit, which was filed on Jan. 17, denies Burke’s claims that he was illegally searched and defamed, as well as other allegations made against the police department.

When asked why the city accepted Burke’s resignation in light of the probable cause leading to his arrest, Lawrence City Attorney Toni Wheeler declined to comment on the case, citing the pending litigation.

Burke’s attorney, Theodore Lickteig, also declined to comment on the case.

It is unclear what information the Lawrence Police Department submitted to Branson’s office because the arrest affidavit in Burke’s case has not yet been made available to the Journal-World.

An arrest affidavit is a document written by police justifying an arrest. After an arrest, the documents are submitted to the DA’s office, which will decide whether to file criminal charges.

What LPD knew

The following details come from the city’s Jan. 17 filing, which includes a summary of a February 2015 interview between investigators and Burke’s alleged victim.

The woman and Burke dated sporadically for more than two years and the relationship had been “tumultuous,” she said. “Burke was domineering, jealous, and possessive.”

The two previously had rough, but consensual sex, she said. However, one incident in January 2015 went too far.

During the incident, Burke slapped the woman harder than ever before and began choking her, she told investigators.

“When she started to see spots, she told Burke, ‘Stop’ as best she could,” the report says. “She reached up and tried to pull Burke’s arms away but she couldn’t and she blacked out.”

Having never been “strangled to unconsciousness” before, the woman told investigators she was scared. Shortly afterwards, Burke told her to join him downstairs, where he demanded she undress and get inside a dog kennel.

Burke then demanded the woman drink a beer and hand over her cell phone and password, she told investigators. He then “took a thick chain and wrapped it around the dog kennel to prevent her from leaving” and left her downstairs for several minutes.

When Burke returned he gave the woman another beer, told her he had looked through her phone and left again, she reported.

At this point the woman told investigators she was “shivering and tried to wrap herself in the towel at the bottom of the dog crate.”

Once more Burke returned, the report says. He lectured the woman “about how she should learn to keep her mouth shut and that she should not talk to anyone about their relationship.”

“Burke took a mallet and started swinging at the dog kennel,” the report says. “He hit the kennel numerous times and she was scared of the plastic cover breaking and the mallet striking her head.”

Burke then opened the kennel and let the woman out, the report says. She got into his bed and spent the night because “she felt it was safer to stay with Burke than to try and leave.”

The next morning the woman said she took pictures of her injuries, which include hemorrhaging to her face and swelling on her top lip, the report says.

“Burke told her that she had better keep her mouth shut and wear a lot of makeup,” the report says.

The woman told investigators “she was hesitant to report the incident” and that “Burke owned several firearms and had told her several times that he could kill her and that he knew people who could make her body disappear,” the report says.

In late February, the woman spoke informally with a male officer about her relationship with Burke. In that conversation, the two officers discussed the bruises on the woman’s body.

The male officer then reported to a supervisor that he believed Burke was abusing the female officer, which launched an investigation into their relationship.

The Lawrence Police Department does not have a policy addressing romantic relationships between officers or other employees.

Burke was soon arrested, and several Lawrence police officers searched his home and vehicle, seizing two cellphones, according to the lawsuit.

Burke’s cellphones were returned that August, and in December, the arrest was expunged from his record, the lawsuit says.

Moving forward

Currently, Burke’s license to work as a police officer is “in good standing,” according to Matt Deffner, central registration manager for the Kansas Commission on Peace Officers’ Standards and Training, which is the organization responsible for the licenses.

Burke is not currently working as a police officer, however, Deffner said.

Whenever a police officer is fired or resigns, the department is required to submit a Notice of Termination or Status Change document to KS-CPOST, said Michelle Meier, the organization’s counsel.

The Lawrence Police Department submitted that document to KS-CPOST on March 6, 2015, Meier said. However, the substance of the document is not open to the public, she said.

Neither Burke nor the female officer has a criminal record in Douglas County District Court.

The female officer is no longer employed with the Lawrence Police Department, Assistant City Manager Diane Stoddard said in September. Both she and Burke began working for the department in 2011.

Burke’s lawsuit maintains his relationship with the female officer was rough but consensual and claims seven causes of action against the defendants:

• Unlawful search warrant

• Assault

• Battery

• False imprisonment

• Defamation

• Trespass

• And trespass to chattel.

The lawsuit is requesting a trial by jury, though a trial date has not yet been set.