Wichita police accountant charged with stealing from city
A former Wichita Police Department associate accountant had a first appearance in court this week on charges accusing her of stealing money from the city.
Shauna Marie Dickman, who appeared in Sedgwick County District Court on Tuesday morning, has been charged with two counts of felony theft, an April 2 complaint filed by the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office shows. One of the charges accuses her of stealing $25,000 to $100,000 sometime between May 20, 2019, and March 9, 2023. The other accuses her of stealing $1,500 to $25,000 sometime between Aug. 2, 2021, and March 9, 2023.
A police report connected to the case says $3,915 in cash was stolen, although it could be more based on how the DA’s charges are written. Of the dollars listed on the police report, Dickman apparently returned $1,745 on March 9, 2023, the report shows, which was her last day with the department. Her employment began in September 2001.
Details about the thefts and how they were discovered were not immediately available. That information is likely included in the probable cause affidavit tied to the case, which The Eagle asked the court to disclose in early April. It has not yet been released.
Most of the time during which the DA’s office alleges the thefts occurred happened before Chief Joe Sullivan took over the department in November 2022.
“We are disappointed in the alleged actions of a former professional staff member in our department,” Sullivan said in a statement. “As Chief, I want to emphasize that this behavior is not characteristic of the dedicated professionals who serve our agency and community with honesty and integrity every day. As a department, we hold each employee to the highest standards of conduct and ethics to maintain trust and uphold values in our agency and community.”
Dickman now apparently works for a church. A staff directory on Pathway Church Westlink’s website on Wednesday listed her as an administrative assistant. She did not answer a call to her work phone on Wednesday. Her attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In 2015, WPD highlighted Dickman’s work from the year before in a Facebook post, saying she “received a certificate of appreciation for her outstanding accuracy in financial document entry” after entering “14,064 items with a 99.7% accuracy rate. Good work Shauna!”
The post included a photo of her holding a certificate and posing alongside officers and other police staff.
She was also WPD’s contact in 2020 to accept donations for a program that gave people free car seats.
