Jail calls led to Wichita police information leak charge: affidavit

Wichita Police have launched an investigation into an employee now accused of leaking classified information after hearing her name and confidential details of the crime mentioned in inmate phone calls recorded at the Sedgwick County Jail.

A police detective discovered the calls on Jan. 10 while reviewing taped conversations between an inmate and his ex-wife, who is related to the city worker, according to an affidavit released earlier this month. by a Sedgwick County Judge.

Mia R. Turner is mentioned in at least two recordings that were among the cache of phone calls reviewed. One call took place on January 6 and the other on January 10, according to the affidavit, which gives new details about what led prosecutors to pursue a felony charge against the 50-year-old.

In the phone conversations reviewed, one of the participants said she “had intimate knowledge” of an active criminal case assigned to her by Turner, a City of Wichita employee who works for the police department. for over 14 years.

In a subsequent interview with law enforcement, this participant identified Turner as a cousin, related by marriage.

The revelation led a police officer to order a “full audit” of Turner’s email account, according to the affidavit. The audit revealed a Jan. 6 internal briefing email to police department command staff that summarized “high-profile or criminal cases,” including the case discussed in prison phone calls.

The internal email also contained a privacy notice warning recipients of the information sharing.

Turner, according to the affidavit, was included in the chain mail because she was secretary to then deputy chief Lemuel Moore, who has since taken over the department as acting police chief after the resignation. March 1 from former chef Gordon Ramsay.

In a March 1 interview with two Wichita police detectives, Turner said she shared details about the case, the affidavit states. Detectives found a photo of the internal email that detailed the case involving her cousin’s ex-husband in a text thread on Turner’s cellphone.

Turner also accessed other information and watched videos related to the case taken by Wichita police officers, according to the affidavit.

She said in her interview with detectives that she viewed the video footage because she feared the inmate was “using his name to help with his case”, but said she did not download it or shared with no one, the document says.

Asked by detectives why she leaked details of an ongoing investigation, the affidavit says she told them, “I didn’t think of it like that.”

She also told detectives she did not recall sharing the photo she took from the internal email, according to the document.

Turner, who is a former Wichita school board member, was charged with a computer crime in March and placed on unpaid administrative leave from her job. His next court date is May 23.