Ticket dismissed after vape pen found in terminally ill man’s hospital room

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - The Hays Police Department confirmed the case dropped with no penalty after it says, a THC vape pen was found in a terminally ill man’s hospital room.

Police say last Monday, Dec. 19, two officers responded to Hays Medical Center on suspicion of drug possession. When the officers arrived, they found a cancer patient with a vaping device that contained THC, police said. Police confiscated the man’s vape pen and cited him for violating city code.

After learning more about the situation, police spoke to the city’s prosecutor, asking for the ticket to be dismissed. This was approved. Hays Police Chief Don Scheibler touched on the subject of enforcing laws in the city while voicing his support for dismissing the citation in this case.

“Any time we expect law enforcement officers to be perfect in an imperfect world, we’re going to be disappointed as a society,” Scheibler said. “As law enforcement, we’ll continue to try to do our best to get better every day. That’s ultimately our goal at the Hays Police Department.”

News of the situation rapidly spread, leading to threats to police and the hospital in Hays. There haven’t been any arrests in connection with the threats, but police are continuing to monitor the situation.