photo by: Douglas County Sheriff's Office

A Douglas County Sheriff's Office vehicle is pictured in January 2022.

A former deputy with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office has lost his certification to be a law enforcement officer in Kansas after he was found to have lied about the location of an accident he was in while driving a county transport vehicle.

Brandon Lewis, who had been with the sheriff’s office from September 2009 to January of this year, was notified of the certification revocation last month.

The revocation stems from an incident on Nov. 4, 2024, when Lewis was driving back from the Wichita area, where he had dropped off an individual, to Douglas County. Lewis, who was alone in the vehicle, hydroplaned on a wet road, slid into the grass, then got back on the roadway. When he arrived back in Douglas County, according to the revocation order, he noticed damage on the vehicle and told his supervisor about the accident, which he said had occurred on Interstate 70 near Lawrence around 12:45 p.m. An investigation, however, revealed that the accident had occurred on Interstate 35 between Cassoday and Emporia between 10:54 a.m. and 11:24 a.m.

The Commission on Peace Officers’ Standards and Training attempted to interview Lewis in April of this year “to determine his continued suitability for law enforcement certification,” but Lewis declined the interview and said he was “done with law enforcement,” according to the revocation order.

The commission found that Lewis intentionally used false or deceptive statements in his official report documenting the accident, that he failed to cooperate in the investigation and failed to maintain good moral character.

Sheriff Jay Armbrister told the Journal-World on Tuesday that it was unknown why Lewis falsely stated the location of the crash. Lewis was a master deputy assigned to the corrections division in the transports unit at the time of the incident.

Armbrister said that fellow employees believed information about the crash needed to be looked into further. As a result of that probe, Lewis was placed on leave on Nov. 15, 2024, and eventually terminated on Jan. 8.

“The outcome speaks for itself in that he falsified an official document as part of dishonesty and was relieved of his duties as a result,” Armbrister said.