photo by: Mike Yoder

Myrone Grady, a former lieutenant from the Lawrence Police Department, is pictured in October 2025 shortly after his retirement.

A retired Lawrence police officer who was accused of hitting a man while off duty at a kids’ basketball game last winter in Topeka has pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and will be on supervised probation for a year.

According to a recently filed journal entry in the Shawnee County case, former Lt. Myrone Grady has been found guilty of the Class C misdemeanor of disorderly conduct after having originally been charged with the Class A misdemeanor of battery. Court documents indicate that he wished “to enter his plea and be sentenced in absentia,” which means without being personally present in the courtroom.

Grady’s sentence is 30 days in jail, suspended to supervised probation for 12 months. He was also ordered to pay various costs and fees totaling $218, to have no contact with the named victim in the case and to obtain a mental health evaluation and follow its recommendations.

The Jan. 27, 2025, incident in the Topeka gym involved a man in his mid-60s, the father of a longtime family friend, as the Journal-World reported. Grady, 52, claimed the older man was angry and seemed likely to be violent so he reacted in self-defense. The judge, however, denied Grady’s request for immunity from prosecution after watching video of the incident, and the case would have proceeded to trial but for the plea agreement filed last week.

Grady — or “OG,” as he’s widely and affectionately known in Lawrence, short for “Officer Grady” — retired last September after about 23 years with the Lawrence Police Department.

On Wednesday, Grady told the Journal-World that the ordeal had taken “an unimaginable toll” on him and his family.

“We just want to move on and get on with our lives,” he said. “We appreciate all of the support we’ve received from our friends and the community. We can’t go backwards and undo what’s already been done. Ultimately the plea was my idea and I will comply with the terms set forth.”

An award-winning officer, Grady was named as the department’s first executive officer for diversity and community engagement in 2022. He held a number of positions with LPD, including as a school resource officer from 2008 to 2012 at South Middle School and Lawrence High School. In 2011 he was named Kansas SRO of the Year.