One of the two Lawrence, KS police officers who were recently suspended has been fired. As discussed previously in my blog, two officers were suspended for a ticket fixing scandal where traffic tickets were fixed in exchange for KU basketball tickets. Lawrence, Kansas Police chief Tarik Khatib confirmed today that one of the officers has been released from the force.
In a news release today, Khatib said that the officer had a long friendship with the athletics employee and eventually fixed at least six traffic tickets in exchange for Kansas basketball tickets, stating "As part of this relationship, the commissioned employee received free, discounted or otherwise special access to certain athletic events over the several years. At some point in the relationship, the former KU Athletic Department employee requested assistance with traffic citations." The chief said at least six tickets were fixed between 2000 and 2009.
Apparently, the other officer is not expected to be fired, but remains suspended until a personnel investigation is completed.
I would like to know what traffic tickets were fixed. Drunk Driving and DUI charges? Or speeding tickets that a traffic attorney could easily take care of? Any criminal defense lawyer will tell you that there is a huge difference. I wonder if anyone got tickets to the huge KU/MU game set for this weekend!