Chapter 10 · Police
Article 1. General Provisions
10-101 Police department; administrative designation.
(a)The police department of this city shall consist of a chief of police and such number of regular law enforcement officers as shall be appointed as provided by K.S.A. 15-204 and amendments thereto.
(b)The governing body hereby designates the City Manager to serve concurrently as Police Administrator.
(c)The Police Administrator position shall be administrative in nature and separate and distinct from the operational command authority of the chief of police.
(d)The designation of the City Manager as Police Administrator shall not alter or diminish the statutory or operational authority of the chief of police regarding day-to-day law enforcement operations.
(Code 2018; Ord. 2026-02)
10-102 Law enforcement personnel; general duties; chain of command.
(a)It shall be the general duty of the chief of police and all sworn law enforcement personnel to the best of their ability to preserve good order, peace and quiet throughout the city as provided by law or ordinance.
(b)The chief of police and all sworn law enforcement personnel shall at all times have power to make arrest under proper process or without process on view of any offense against the laws of the State of Kansas or laws of the city.
(c)All persons arrested for violation of any law of the state and who shall not be charged with an offense under any law of the city shall be released to the custody of the sheriff of the county and such arrest shall be reported to the county attorney.
(d)The chief of police shall serve as the operational head of the department and shall direct daily law enforcement activities, investigations, patrol functions, field supervision, enforcement discretion, and deployment decisions.
(e)All arrest authority, enforcement discretion, investigative determinations, tactical decisions shall remain exclusively under the operational direction of the chief of police except as otherwise required by Kansas law during formally declared emergency circumstances.
(f)The Police Administrator, being the City Manager, shall provide administrative oversight including, but not limited to:
(1)Budget preparation and monitoring;
(2)Policy review for statutory and fiscal compliance;
(3)Personnel record compliance;
(4)Training and certification verification;
(5)Asset, equipment, and inventory oversight;
(6)Risk management and liability review; and
(7)Interdepartmental coordination.
(g)The Police Administrator shall not direct or interfere with specific enforcement actions, arrests, investigations, charging recommendations, or tactical decisions of sworn personnel except where expressly authorized by statute or during formally declared emergency authority as provided by Kansas law.
(h)If the City Manager is a duly certified law enforcement officer under Kansas law, any limited-duty sworn authority exercised shall be supplemental and shall not displace the chief’s operational chain of command.
(Code 2018; Ord. 2026-02)
10-103 Rules and regulations.
(a)The chief of police shall have authority to propose such rules and regulations as may be necessary for the proper and efficient conduct of the department.
(b)All departmental policies and regulations shall require approval by the governing body.
(c)The Police Administrator may review policies for administrative, fiscal, and legal compliance prior to submission to the governing body.
(d)Nothing herein shall be construed to grant unilateral policy-making authority to the Police Administrator absent governing body approval.
(Code 2018; Ord. 2026-02)