Wildlife and Parks officer used government credit card, property for personal use, investigation finds
A former law enforcement officer at the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks has lost his certification after an investigation turned up evidence of embezzling state money.
The Kansas Commission on Peace Officers' Standards and Training revoked the certification of Bradley Niemann. The oversight board concluded that he "lacks the personal qualities of integrity, honesty, upholding the laws of the state, conduct that warrants the public trust, and upholding the oath required for certification."
Despite admissions to using state property and credit cards for personal use, there is no evidence that Niemann has faced criminal charges. It is also unclear from the available records whether he paid back money and what the potential loss of taxpayer funds might have been.
Spokespeople for the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks didn't respond to requests for comment in the past week. The agency has since said they won't comment on the matter because it is a personnel issue.
More: When rain comes, Gage Park mini train suffers washouts. A $129,000 project aims to fix railroad.
The only redaction in the KSCPOST revocation order, which was signed June 24 and publicly released earlier this month, is contact information for Niemann. It appears that he is now a real estate agent, describing himself as a certified wildlife law enforcement officer. A call to his work number Tuesday morning went unreturned.
Former employee accused of stealing Kansas government funds
Niemann was a law enforcement officer for KDWP from July 2019 to November 2021, KSCPOST reported. He was a supervisor at the Melvern Wildlife Area, managing thousands of acres of tallgrass prairie, woodland habitat and crop land.
Niemann "regularly used KDWPT vehicles and equipment for personal use" and used the labor of subordinate employees for personal tasks, according to the revocation order.
Additionally, Niemann would take home government property. State employees then had to purchase new tools to do their jobs, the order states.
Niemann "damaged a KDWPT vehicle while towing his personal camper and used the agency credit card to pay for the repair," the order states. He also used the agency credit card to buy fuel for his personal vehicles and used agency vehicles for personal matters. In one case, Niemann signed a fuel receipt for a day that he took sick leave.
Niemann admitted to all of the allegations, the commission reported. The facts came to light through an investigation by Niemann's supervisor following work crew complaints and a noticeable reduction in productivity.
More: Secretary of State Scott Schwab broke open records law in provisional ballot data request: Court
Criminal charges and loss to taxpayers unknown
The amount of any taxpayer money lost wasn't reported; neither was whether Niemann paid restitution.
The commission, which oversees law enforcement training and certification in Kansas but doesn't conduct criminal investigations, indicated that Niemann's conduct constitutes criminal theft and official misconduct.
Theft is a felony under Kansas law if the value is more than $1,500. Amounts less than that are generally a misdemeanor. The official misconduct statute includes submitting a false claim for expenses to a governmental entity, which is a felony if the amount is over $1,000. It is also illegal to misuse public funds, which is a felony if over $1,000.
It doesn't appear that Niemann has been charged with a crime.
The Kansas district court public access portal doesn't show any record of criminal charges. Neither the Osage County attorney nor the Lyon County Attorney's Office had any information on possible cases against Niemann.
Melvern Lake is in Osage County about 40 miles south of Topeka, but the unit Niemann led is headquartered in Lyon County, west of the reservoir.
Wildlife and Parks officials didn't respond to questions about a criminal investigation and recovering the money.
Jason Tidd is a statehouse reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached by email at jtidd@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jason_Tidd.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Former Kansas wildlife officer loses certification after embezzlement
