Former Kechi PD supervisor who abused Wichita police cameras loses certification

Michael Stavola
·2 min read
3

A fomer Kechi police lieutenant who misused Wichita police cameras to stalk his estranged wife has had his officer certification revoked, according to a document released this week by a oversight organization.

Victor Heiar could not be reached for comment. The Kansas Commission on Peace Officers’ Standards and Training revocation document was released Tuesday.

In April, the 32-year-old Park City man was put on probation for 18 months after he pleaded guilty to misdemeanors in computer crime and stalking in the case. He was with the Kechi Police Department from March 24, 2019 to October 26, 2022, the day he was arrested.

Heiar used the Flock Safety license plate reader surveillance system on Oct. 23 to track the victim’s whereabouts between Sept. 23 and that day. Flock cameras use machine learning and artificial intelligence to search for specific license plates or the make and model of a vehicle.

The company, which reports its cameras and gunshots sensors are used by agencies and neighborhoods in more than 3,000 communities, said it was the first report of an officer abusing the system.

Wichita police have been using its cameras since 2020. Law enforcement with a subscription can access other departments’ Flock cameras. Wichita police say they revoked Kechi’s access to the city’s database after the unlawful search.

Heiar had asked the victim on Oct. 23 where she went around 10 a.m., according to an arrest affidavit released in the case. She replied asking how he knew she wasn’t home.

“You were spotted on meridian,” he texted on Oct. 23.

She replied: “Spotted, by whom?”

And he replied: “Does it matter(?)”

The victim’s friend, who originally inquired about getting a protection from abuse order for her, told a detective that the victim was scared of Heiar and would “often tell family where her kids were in case she were to come up missing or murdered,” a detective wrote in the affidavit.

Heiar told a detective that he knew he was misusing Flock.

“When asked how he believed it made (the victim) feel, he said that she probably said she felt threatened, and unsafe and that he was out to kill her,” the affidavit says.