Retired WPD deputy chief will step in as interim police chief on Sept. 27, city says

A Wichita Police Department deputy chief who retired in 2019 will step into the agency’s interim police chief role on Sept. 27, the city said in a news release Friday.

Troy Livingston will replace current interim Chief Lemuel Moore, who announced last month that he would leave the department by October. Moore, a 31-year veteran, took over as interim chief in March following the departure of former Chief Gordon Ramsay.

Moore will continue with the WPD until Sept. 30 “to assist with the transition,” the city said in the release.

Moore had previously told The Eagle he was considering applying for the permanent police chief position but on Aug. 23 announced that he was no longer interested and would retire instead.

Livingston served in a variety of roles in the Wichita Police Department from 1995 until his 2019 retirement after 24 years of service. He has since been working as a senior instructor at the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center.

Wichita City Manager Robert Layton, in a prepared statement included in the news release, called Livingston “a strong, respected leader” and “a great fit to serve the City as Interim Chief” until the search for a permanent chief is complete.

Livingston will not be a candidate for the permanent chief position, the city said.

“He (Livingston) has an outstanding depth of experience and knowledge of the department,” Layton said in the statement. “His tested judgement and commendable experience at just about every level of leadership in the department, from officer to deputy chief, gives him a great perspective and understanding of the needs of the City and the department.”

Layton also thanked Moore for his “many, many years of service and specifically for his leadership over the last several challenging months for the City. We wish him well.”

Livingston said he is “looking forward to serving my community again, as well as preparing for a smooth transition for the new chief,” according to the release.

“This is a wonderful opportunity to get a lot of great progress accomplished for the City in the interim,” he said in a prepared statement.

It’s unclear exactly when a permanent chief will be chosen. City officials have previously said it could be months. But it could happen as early as the end of October, Layton told The Eagle after Moore announced his retirement.

Moore, 53, took over the Wichita Police Department on March 1 after Ramsay resigned to move back to Minnesota to pursue a run for the St. Louis County sheriff. The department for months has been embroiled in controversy, much of it stemming from decisions made before Moore stepped into the interim chief role.

That city officials brought in an outside hire to serve as interim chief could be indicative of their trust in the current leadership.

Two of the current deputy chiefs, Chester Pinkston and Jose Salcido, have been blamed for their involvement in a light punishment given to officers who sent racist, homophobic and extremist messages to each other. Many were on the SWAT team.

The messages included a photoshopped image of a naked Black man sitting on the head of George Floyd, who was killed when a white officer knelt on his neck. Floyd’s death sparked global protests about police brutality against Black people. The message was sent by a SWAT officer as the team responded to protests in Wichita.

The only officer originally suspended was one who called Ramsay “a tool.”

Multiple officers were later suspended when officials reopened the investigation after an Eagle story detailing some of the messages and the light punishments officers received.

It’s the second time Pinkston and Salcido have not been tapped for the top spot. The only other deputy chief is recently promoted Paul Duff.

In December, Ramsay announced he was leaving on March 1 after six years with the department. Moore has had to deal with the scandal left by his predecessor. The story about the messages was published a couple weeks after he took over as interim chief.

Despite the scandal and fallout around it, Moore had previously said he was applying for the chief position. Moore was widely criticized last month after The Eagle reported that he promoted Justin Rapp.

Rapp shot and killed Andrew Finch, an unarmed 28-year-old father, in December 2017 after a California serial hoaxer reported a bogus murder-hostage situation at Finch’s address. The Finch family is suing the city for $25 million.

Moore promoted Rapp despite a letter in his file detailing why former Deputy Chief Wanda Givens passed over a promotion for Rapp.

“Most notably, when discussing the propriety of your return to off-duty employment at Wal-Mart with supervisors, you acknowledged that you would probably run into the family someday,” Givens wrote, ”and, if you did, you would say something to the effect of ‘yes, I had to shoot your son. I’m over it, and you need to get over it too.’”

Moore announced he was retiring the month after the story about Rapp’s promotion was published.

Following the text message scandal, the police department hired Chicago-based Jensen Hughes to investigate racism and issues within the police department, including how the department investigates its own officers.

The consultants have completed reports on beleaguered police departments in Baltimore, San Francisco, Oakland, Denver and Miami — sometimes on behalf of the U.S. Department of Justice. Its most recent reports on Louisville and Minneapolis came in response to the killing by police in 2020 of two unarmed Black people, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd.

Contributing: Chance Swaim of The Eagle