After two brutal attacks, these Topekans question why police issued no safety alerts

Topeka police shouldn't have waited two weeks before letting the public know that an Aug. 15 attack committed near the Shunga Trail was a sexual assault, Jay Patterson told Topeka's mayor and city council.

Police should have alerted the public that a homeless man was on the loose after beating 22-year-old Heaven Dodds until she was unconscious Sept. 9, but they didn't, her grandfather, Bob Secord, said to that same body.

But Topeka Police Chief Bryan Wheeles said through a spokeswoman the moves police made in those cases were consistent with the department's policies and procedures regarding the release of information, which it posts on its website.

"The Topeka Police Department adhered to its policy, balancing the release of information, without jeopardizing active investigations," he said in a statement emailed by a communications specialist for Topeka's city government.

Law enforcement often has to do a juggling act

The most important thing to look at in evaluating such decisions involves whether police followed the policies and procedures they have in place, said Chris Etheridge, an assistant professor of journalism at the University of Kansas.

If they did, citizens who are unhappy can focus on trying to change those policies, said Etheridge, whose research explores the ways crime news and information affect the way people think about their communities.

The Capital-Journal contacted Etheridge after Patterson and Secord told the city council about the separate, potentially dangerous situations where they said police withheld information that should have been shared publicly.

Etheridge said police must maintain a balance between identifying when information should and shouldn't be shared.

Holding back facts from the public has proven to be a valuable tool for investigators, he said.

On the other hand, making people feel safe is one of a police department's most important community engagement responsibilities, and sharing information with the public is often a good way to do that, Etheridge said.

'We should have known that this danger was going on'

Patterson, speaking Sept. 12 to the mayor and council, made reference to an attack allegedly committed Aug. 15 along the Warren Nature Trails near Felker Park.

The attack came at a time of increased concern about safety of trail users due to unsheltered residents camping near trails.

Topeka police publicly revealed on Aug. 18 that the Aug. 15 attack had occurred. They said the victim, whose gender they didn't reveal, had suffered injuries that were serious but not life-threatening.

Police then announced Aug. 30 that they had arrested Jose J. Arteaga, 30, in the case. Arteaga was being held Friday in the Shawnee County on a $1 million bond on charges that included rape, jail records said.

Between the times of the attack and the arrest, members of the public walked the trail for two weeks unaware that the attack had involved sexual assault, Patterson told the mayor and council.

"We should have known that this danger was going on," she said.

Rule of thumb is to release information about 'immediate danger'

The general rule of thumb in such situations is for police to release information if there is "immediate danger" to members of the public, Etheridge said.

Topeka police haven't said why they didn't immediately reveal the Aug. 15 attack was allegedly a rape. They haven't shared whether the victim knew her attacker or told when they identified Arteaga as a suspect.

Wheeles said in the statement from his spokeswoman, "When it comes to releasing information related to ongoing investigations, we’re constantly weighing what is important for public safety and what is necessary to maintain investigative integrity."

Few investigative details can be shared publicly until an investigation has concluded and an arrest has been made, which takes time, the statement continued.

"Generally, TPD releases information to the public when any of the following occur: natural disasters, riots or other civil disturbances, homicides, shootings, destruction or significant damage to a public facility, death or injuries of key personnel, etc.," Wheeles' statement said.

The department's policy also calls for it to release information about "news items of public interest and concern."

Victim was traumatized from the attack, her grandfather says

Patterson was followed to the lectern by Secord.

He said his granddaughter, Heaven Dodds, was beaten early Sept. 9 by a man who was homeless she had allowed to sleep "a couple nights" on the floor inside the southwest Topeka apartment where she'd moved earlier that week.

Dodds, 22, was trying to help the man, Secord told The Capital-Journal. Dodds was traumatized and unavailable to talk to the newspaper, he said. Secord said she has mental health issues.

Dodds' guest, without provocation, brutally beat her into unconsciousness, grabbed by her hair and slammed her into the wall and floor over a time period that may have lasted hours, Secord said. Dodds made her way to an outdoor landing, where a neighbor found her.

She was taken by ambulance to a Topeka hospital, where she was a patient for a day and a half, he said. Police questioned Dodds at the hospital and took a report.

Officers had been told by that time that the attacker's name was Shawn Michael Ward, Secord said, adding that police should have put out a public alert sharing Ward's identity and telling people he was on the loose.

That didn't happen, Secord said, so he used Facebook to get the word out about Ward and the attack.

Secord then spoke at the council meeting, where he became so angry that Mayor Mike Padilla directed him to calm down.

"I embarrassed myself, to be honest," Secord later acknowledged to The Capital-Journal.

'We do not release information related to the identity of a suspect'

In Wheeles' emailed statement via the communications specialist, he said, "We do not release information related to the identity of a suspect prior to an arrest, any opinion of guilt or innocence, any information that could reveal the identity of a domestic violence victim, etc."

Still, the department's policy regarding public information appears to give police leeway to publicly reveal a crime suspect's name, if circumstances merit.

That policy says suspect identities may not be released "except as necessary to aid the investigation, to assist in apprehension of the suspect, or to warn the public of dangers."

Defendant accused in attack is now in Shawnee County Jail

Ward, 25, of Topeka, was arrested Sept. 16 after officers attempting to find him went to the 2900 block of S.W. Oakley Avenue, where he initially fled but was subsequently arrested, said Rosie Nichols, public safety communications specialist for Topeka's city government.

Ward was booked into the Shawnee County Jail, where records said he was being held Friday on a $1,000 bond on four charges, all misdemeanors, including simple battery to Dodds.

Secord wants District Attorney Mike Kagay to charge Ward with aggravated battery, a felony, in the attack. Aggravated battery involves the use of a weapon or infliction of great bodily harm or disfigurement.

In an unrelated case, Ward faces pending charges of aggravated domestic battery, domestic battery and battery, allegedly committed involving a different victim in July 2021, Shawnee County District Court records show.

Contact Tim Hrenchir at threnchir@gannett.com or 785-213-5934.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Topekans question lack of public safety alerts after 2 recent attacks