Wichita’s Fraternal Order of Police is again asking for an apology from Mayor Brandon Whipple. The group is also asking for a seat on the Mayor’s committee that’s overseeing the police department. This comes after Councilman Jeff Blubaugh stepped away from the committee, questioning if the mayor can remain unbiased. The latest statement from the FOP can be read below.

On October 18, 2022, KWCH News published an article entitled “Wichita City Councilmember
removes himself from mayor’s review committee.” The Fraternal Order of Police strongly agrees
with Councilmember Blubaugh’s position in this article. It is hard to imagine how Mayor
Whipple could remain impartial as a member of such a committee after he has displayed such
bias to not only the Wichita Police Department, but to one of the brave officers that serves this
community.
In the past, we have seen the Mayor in media briefings claim to have a desire to fix the problems
with the Wichita Police Department. He has stated as an “elected official,” only he can provide
oversight to address the concerns with the Wichita Police Department, and claims his only
interest is to “right the ship.” The union and its members have no faith the Mayor can accomplish
this goal.
Because the Wichita Police Department is a public agency, we recognize that elected leaders
have the responsibility to provide oversight. However, leadership includes recognizing the
strengths and weakness of those serving in the agencies being overseen. It also means
recognizing the limits of one’s own abilities. When politicians without a background in law
enforcement seek to micro-manage police operations, overriding the sound judgment of law
enforcement professionals, public safety is at risk.
It is clear to the FOP that the Mayor’s leadership has fallen short. His shameful display of
entitlement and disrespect toward an officer trying to do his job demonstrates that he lacks the
objectivity and sound judgment to lead a commission evaluating the Wichita Police Department.
His demonstrated bias toward law enforcement should disqualify him from the chair of the
review committee.
Since the aforementioned article was published, a new one has emerged. On October 20, 2022,
KWCH News published an article entitled, “Wichita neighborhood association says mayor
offered $1,500 following on-cam incident.” The Mayor claims during his interview for the
article that the reason he sent the money to the Southwest Neighborhood Association was, “…to
sponsor a couple of dumpsters in the future to try to make sure that the next event works a little
more smooth.” He further stated, “Originally, I thought that the neighborhood association was
actually the ones who were spending the money and putting on the neighborhood cleanup, and
this time I guess, the city was actually the ones doing it,” Whipple said. “So, before I sent the
check, I checked around and said, ‘hey, the neighborhood association ran this right?’ And I got
the wrong information.” However, during his phone call to City Manager Robert Layton while
at the neighborhood cleanup in question, the Mayor stated, “I called you after this guy (Vogt)
told me I’m no longer welcome at the neighborhood cleanup, and that now he is going to be the,
uh, I guess the authority on who can do a neighborhood cleanup and drop things off and can’t,
which is definitely not what we do at City Hall. And that’s why you’re on the phone right now,
Bob. That’s the complaint – not that I need to go to the back of the line, it’s that this guy tried to
kick me out of what we appropriate for neighborhood cleanups based on his attitude and not any
facts.” Mayor Whipple continues to show that he struggles with veracity. Instead of being
truthful and owning up to his transgressions, he changes his story depending on what is
politically expedient at the time.
The Mayor should make a public apology to the Wichita Police Department and the officer
involved in the released video. This apology is not only for the Mayor’s actions on the day of the
“clean up” event, but for all his actions and words afterward where he defamed the officer and
police officers at-large, along with the actions of his political strategists, who spread
misinformation and launched vile attacks at the officer.
As a stakeholder, the Union requests a seat at the table on the Mayor’s committee and demands
the Mayor be removed due to his obvious bias. The Union would also suggests Council Member
Blubaugh be made as the committee Chair. If the Mayor’s past claims of transparency are true
the Union’s involvement shouldn’t be an issue.