A Sedgwick County Sheriff’s deputy has been charged with official misconduct after he allegedly withheld evidence in a narcotics investigation.
The charge stems from a citizen complaint filed in December against Deputy Justin Price. The case was investigated by the Wichita Police Department, and the Sheriff’s Office conducted its own internal investigation.
Pricefaces one count of “knowingly destroying, tampering with or concealing evidence.” Sheriff Jeff Easter said Wednesday that all deputies receive training on how to properly turn in evidence.
“The fact of the matter is, we can’t sit there and have a body camera, or have a camera on the individual 24 hours a day to ensure they’re turning in evidence," he said. "We have to trust that they are, and in this particular case, he didn’t.”
Easter says he believes it was an isolated incident.
Price had been employed by the Sheriff's Office for about four and a half years.
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