Former police chief recovers from overdose, sentenced

LIBERTY, Mo. -- A former small-town police chief who is recovering from a severe cocaine overdose pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor drug charge and received a suspended sentence of one year in jail.

William Abney, 39, was fired as police chief of the eastern Jackson County town of Lone Jack on June 26, just hours after he was found on a floor in his Kansas City home suffering seizures. Police said they found 11 grams of cocaine, a scale and a pocket knife nearby in the home, which is located in the Clay County portion of Kansas City.

Abney pleaded guilty in Clay County Circuit Court on Thursday to a misdemeanor charge of possessing drug paraphernalia.

In return for the plea, prosecutors dropped a cocaine possession charge punishable by up to seven years in prison.

"That's a death sentence for a law enforcement officer," said his attorney, John P. O'Connor.

Abney was on life support for three days after the cocaine overdose and had been expected to die. He now suffers short-term memory lapses, although he is improving, O'Connor said.

During Thursday's proceedings, Abney walked to the front of the courtroom and spoke just two words, answering, "Yes, sir," when the judge asked if he understood the plea.

FBI agents began investigating the handling of confiscated drugs at the Lone Jack Police Department in June, shortly after Abney was hospitalized.

O'Connor said Thursday there is no proof that the cocaine discovered with Abney came from the Lone Jack Police Department. Abney intends to cooperate in the federal investigation, O'Connor said.

Lone Jack's new police chief, Larry Dickstein, said his department had not yet regained control of the property room.

Dickstein said he was still working on revised procedures for the room. Previously, only the chief had a key to the room, he said. Items collected by officers were put into a storage box until they could be transferred.