Overland Park police chief suddenly resigns from job Tuesday; city offers no explanation

Overland Park Police Chief Frank Donchez suddenly resigned from his post for unknown reasons on Tuesday and the city will begin searching immediately for someone to replace him.

Meg Ralph, a spokeswoman for Overland Park, announced the chief’s resignation in a brief news release Tuesday night. She provided no reason for his departure from the department, saying the City of Overland Park “does not comment on personnel information.”

Deputy Chief Simon Happer was appointed to serve as police chief in the interim, Ralph said, as the city will begin a national search effort to hire a new police chief “as soon as possible.”

Donchez was hired as Overland Park’s top cop in 2014 after working as chief of police in Davenport, Iowa. He was credited by city leaders at the time with reducing Davenport’s crime rate by 49% over his six years at the helm.

Before his time in Iowa, Donchez was the police commissioner in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where he began his law enforcement career in 1981.

In Overland Park, Donchez oversaw a department with 330 full-time employees, including 280 sworn police officers.

The department was the subject of some scrutiny during Donchez’s tenure.

One example is the fatal police shooting of 17-year-old John Albers in January 2018. Officer Clayton Jenison opened fire on a minivan as the teenager was backing down the driveway when police responded to his home for a reported a mental health crisis.

Policing experts criticized the use of force for a host of reasons, including firing a gun into a minivan that posed no readily apparent threat to the officer.

Jenison, who said he shot Albers out of fear for his own life, was not charged with a crime. The city paid Jenison a $70,000 severance and reported to the state police licensing agency that he left voluntarily “under ordinary circumstances.”

Another blemish on the department under Donchez’s command is the ongoing investigation of four officers placed on administrative leave for more than a year. They were put on leave as the Johnson County District Attorney’s Office investigates criminal allegations involving a police nonprofit where three of them have served as directors.

The Star’s Katie Moore contributed to this report.