WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A former Sedgwick County deputy sheriff has lost his law enforcement certification for conducting illegal traffic stops and searches.
A state board revoked Joel Sutherlands certification last month, citing more than 30 unnecessary traffic stops or searches.
The Wichita Eagle reports the Kansas Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training says in the first six months of 2015, Sunderland stopped vehicles for violations that hadnt occurred and then conducted searches that werent legal.
Sheriff Jeff Easter says Sunderlands job with the sheriffs office ended in 2015 but his license wasnt revoked until after federal prosecutors decided not to file charges amid an FBI investigation.
Sunderland was sued for excessive force in 2013, when he was accused of beating a drunken driver. The county settled the lawsuit for $75,000.
