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.
Lawrence Police Department
The writing may be on the wall for a former Douglas County sheriff’s deputy and Lawrence police officer.
Despite numerous complaints and red flags, years passed before Brad Williams’ peace officer certification was challenged.
Many Native American students, staff and faculty as well as their surrounding community were left in mourning after they learned that unidentified ancestors’ remains were discovered in KU’s museum collections.
The University of Kansas has remains of Native American people in its museum collections, according to a statement from administrators.
Tricia Masenthin/Lawrence Times
Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center has two listening sessions coming up, but some clients are sounding off now. They say unfilled medications, a lack of available appointments, and unresponsiveness are keeping them from staying on track with their mental health care.
Open enrollment in Kansas public schools will worsen existing inequities and funding issues as well as diminish the importance of voters’ representation on local school boards, some local leaders say.
Molly Adams / Lawrence Times
A Lawrence police detective was placed on paid leave following his arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence last week, though city policy suggests the suspension should be without pay.
Mackenzie Clark / The Lawrence Times
Rontarus Washington Jr., who spent several years behind bars charged with murder in a case that was eventually dismissed, has taken the first step toward filing a $3 million wrongful incarceration lawsuit against Douglas County.
“We could’ve killed him, gone home and had dinner. That’s how strong the hate was,” Sakeim Dowdell recalled, 52 years after a Lawrence police officer shot and killed his younger brother, Rick “Tiger” Dowdell.
All told, Tiger Dowdell’s murder — at the hands of a police department that had threatened to kill him shortly before his death, his grandmother told the KBI — drastically changed the fabric of Lawrence.
