Ex-Wichita police officer involved in text message scandal loses certification. Here’s why

A former Wichita police officer has been stripped of his law enforcement certification after he tested positive for marijuana and lied about it during an investigation, according to the Kansas Commission on Peace Officers’ Standards and Training.

The organization, known as KSCPOST, oversees officer certifications.

Donielle Watson was employed by WPD from January 12, 2004 until he was fired on Dec. 30, 2022.

In an emailed statement from his lawyer, Watson said “I know in my heart that I told the truth throughout this matter but, unfortunately, CPOST reached a different conclusion. I can finish this chapter in my life with a clean conscience and with disappointment in the way the system worked.”

Watson was a well-known officer in the community during his 18-year career. He was named the Willard Garvey Crime Prevention Officer of the Year in 2019. He also often appeared on social media videos on the department’s juvenile intervention unit that he helped create in 2020.

He also was among officers involved in a text message scandal. Watson sent a photoshopped, racist image of George Floyd to another officer as rioters took to the streets after Floyd’s death in May 2020. That officer sent the message to other officers, some of whom were on the SWAT team.

The 10-page document on the order of revocation gave this account of the marijuana incident:

Watson was asked to take a random drug test on July 18, 2022. His test came back positive for marijuana/THC and as a result he was suspended for 160 hours.

During an internal department investigation after the positive test result, Watson denied intentionally using THC and said he may have unintentionally ingested THC while he was on vacation from June 4-9, 2022 in Belize.

In his testimony at a hearing with the KSCPOST, Watson said that while he was in Belize, he met some people who were smoking marijuana and they offered him some. He declined and instead accepted Garifuna cigarettes.

Watson said he smoked two of these cigarettes and later learned that the cigarettes are sometimes dipped in a substance containing THC.

Watson said his positive test for THC on July 18, 2022 was the result of smoking the two Garifuna cigarettes in early June in Belize.

A Wichita detective working on the case interviewed two forensic toxicology experts who “did not believe that it was possible for Watson to produce a positive test for THC metabolites unless he had also ingested THC after, and also possibly before, his Belize vacation.” They said he must have used THC closer to the July 18 random testing date.

After Watson was fired, WPD notified the KSCPOST of his termination.

During a hearing, Watson maintained that he had been honest with the department and the commission. And since the “WPD had never previously terminated the employment of anyone who violated the WPD drug and alcohol policy,Watson had no reason to lie about using illegal substances,” according to the account in the KSCPOST report.

After the hearing, the commission revoked his license on the grounds of unprofessional conduct, contending that Watson had used a controlled substance unlawful to possess and made false statements during official communications.