Two of Douglas County’s top law enforcement officials have reached an agreement following a long dispute over access to information contained in deputies’ personnel files.
Mackenzie Clark/Lawrence Times
A plea deal Thursday resulted in a Lawrence man being convicted of one misdemeanor, seeing three cases dropped and getting out of jail on time served.
His case was the latest to call attention to an ongoing dispute between the Douglas County sheriff and district attorney.
Mackenzie Clark/Lawrence Times
A judge has ruled that prosecutors did not withhold information that should have been turned over to a defense attorney regarding an ex-deputy accused of violating law and policy. This case, the latest to highlight an ongoing conflict between the DA and the sheriff, leaves some questions lingering.
Mackenzie Clark/Lawrence Times
A Lawrence defense attorney is arguing that his client’s case should be dismissed because prosecutors failed to disclose Brady/Giglio information, or information that raises questions about an officer’s credibility and character.
Douglas County Sheriff Jay Armbrister is “Giglio-impaired” because he mishandled evidence, according to the district attorney’s office. The sheriff disputes the characterization.
Conflict has been worsening between the Douglas County sheriff and district attorney amid an ongoing dispute over what information the sheriff’s office must share with prosecutors regarding employee misconduct.
No judge reviewed Douglas County Sheriff Jay Armbrister’s personnel file and cleared him of untruthful behavior, as the sheriff wrote in response to questions last month.
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The Douglas County DA’s office has dropped an estimated 50 cases because of officer integrity issues — including one homicide case. And dueling policies about officer truthfulness and bias are straining the relationship between police and prosecutors.
In the interest of giving each Douglas County law enforcement agency a fair opportunity to respond to questions about complex issues surrounding officer truthfulness, we are publishing each agency’s full responses.
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Douglas County Sheriff Jay Armbrister sat at the witness stand during a jury trial last month and testified that he failed to save a recording in a high-level felony case. That wasn’t the first time.
