Police union calls on Wichita mayor to apologize or resign after confrontation with officer

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - Approaching a week since 12 News obtained body camera footage that captures a verbal confrontation between Wichita Mayor Brandon Whipple and a Wichita police officer, the Kansas State Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) issued a statement Tuesday, Oct. 18, calling on the mayor to either apologize to the officer and members of the Wichita Police Department “and accept full responsibility for his actions,” or resign.

The latest response from the Kansas FOP follows a statement last week from the national fraternal order that also called on Whipple to apologize.

The incident happened during a Sept. 24 Wichita neighborhood cleanup at which a Wichita city leader and some Wichita Police Department members told 12 News Whipple attempted to “cut in line,” driving around other people who were waiting to dump trash.

Whipple, in line to dump trash from a rental property, said he misunderstood the situation and felt the officer mistreated him. The exchange included the mayor calling City Manager Robert Layton.

In the days that followed the public release of the body cam footage from the exchange between Wichita’s mayor and the officer, the Kansas FOP said, “Mayor Whipple’s political allies immediately engaged social media in an attempt to publicly impugn and discredit [WPD Officer] Atlee Vogt.”

“This further demonstrates our belief that Mayor Whipple understood what he did was completely improper and that he handled the situation inappropriately,” the union’s statement said. “Mayor Whipple should offer a public apology to Brother Vogt and the members of the Wichita Police Department and accept full responsibility for his actions. If Mayor Whipple is unable to do this, he must immediately resign as Mayor of Wichita.”