Former KC area sheriff's deputy accused of altering beating video

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A former Kansas City-area sheriff's deputy who allegedly altered a videotape of him punching and kicking a handcuffed suspect after a 2005 chase could lose his state peace officer's license.

Donald A. Devens, who resigned from the Clay County sheriff's office months after the alleged beating and got a job as a police officer for another agency, could find out next month if he will be allowed to remain in police work.

The Missouri Department of Public Safety began investigating Devens after the Clay County sheriff's office turned in a report concerning the deputy's resignation. The public safety investigation led to a review by the Missouri Administration Hearing Commission in Jefferson City.

Devens and other officers were involved in a chase the evening of Aug. 16, 2005, said Clay County Sheriff Paul Vescovo. They were trying to stop a man who had a 2-year-old child in the pickup truck with him, Vescovo said.

Sheriff's investigators found some troubling footage weeks later when reviewing a videotape from a neighboring police department that assisted in the chase. It showed Devens assaulting the non-resisting, handcuffed suspect, Wesley A. Lewis, 29, of Kansas City, Vescovo said.

Even more disturbing, the sheriff said, was that a videotape Devens provided after the arrest did not show the excessive force the Kearney Police Department had in its recording. Vescovo said Devens altered the tape from his cruiser, erasing the assault against the suspect.

"This was something we looked into based on inconsistencies that were discovered within our department," Vescovo said, adding that no outside complaints triggered the sheriff's investigation into Devens.

Devens resigned Oct. 7, 2005, when the sheriff's investigation was concluded.

Dana Frese, the attorney representing Devens, said he could not comment because the issue of whether Devens will get to keep his peace officer license is still pending.

Vescovo said he could not comment on why Devens left the sheriff's office but said the former deputy's actions "were definitely violations of departmental policy and procedures concerning the handling of prisoners and evidence."

The sheriff said the department turned the matter over to the state Public Safety Department rather than pursue criminal charges.

"Very early on, I had to make a decision as to whether to conduct a criminal investigation," Vescovo said. "I decided to do the internal affairs investigation. I'm really not going to elaborate on why I decided to do that. It's a decision I still stand by to this day."

Devens had been with the sheriff's office since August 2001.

About four months after resigning as a deputy, he took a job with the Pleasant Valley Police Department, also in the Kansas City area. He left that job last week.

Pleasant Valley Police Chief Jim Daum said he could not comment on why Devens left, but he said Devens had no problems while with the department.

Vescovo said Devens also had a clean record in Clay County until the assault and altered videotape allegations.

"Prior to this, Deputy Devens had been a veteran law enforcement officer with considerable experience," Vescovo said. "I had not received any complaints."

Lewis, the suspect involved in the chase, was sentenced last year to five years for endangering the welfare of a child. He was granted probation after three months, Vescovo said.

Then, in February of this year, a judge ordered Lewis back to serve out the five-year sentence after he violated probation by receiving stolen property, resisting arrest, failing to notify a probation officer of an address change, and associating with known felons, Vescovo said.