The police department of this city shall consist of a chief of police and a number of regular police officers as shall be appointed as provided by K.S.A. 14-201 and amendments thereto, and Charter Ordinance No. 51 as amended and supplemented.

It shall be the general duty of the chief of police and all sworn police personnel to the best of their ability to preserve good order, peace and quiet throughout the city as provided by law or ordinance.

The chief of police and all sworn police personnel shall at all times have power to make arrest under proper process or without process on view of any offense against the laws of the State of Kansas or ordinances of the city and to keep all persons so arrested, unless admitted to bail, in the city jail, county jail or other proper place to prevent their escape until their trial can be had before the proper officer.

All persons arrested for violation of any law of the state and who shall not be charged with an offense under an ordinance of the city shall be released to the custody of the sheriff of the county and such arrest shall be reported to the county attorney.

(Code 1988)

The chief of police shall have power to make such rules and regulations as may be necessary for the proper and efficient conduct of the department, subject to review and approval of the City Council.

Property seized under a search warrant or validly seized without a warrant shall be kept by the officer seizing the same unless otherwise directed by the magistrate, or municipal court judge having jurisdiction of the same, and shall be so kept as long as necessary for the purpose of being produced as evidence on any trial The property seized may not be taken from the officer having it in custody so long as it is or may be required as evidence in any trial. The officer seizing the property shall give a receipt to the person detained or arrested ·particularly describing each article of property being held and shall file a copy of such receipt with a magistrate or municipal court judge before whom the person detained or arrested is taken. Where seized property is no longer required as evidence in the prosecution of any indictment, information or complaint, the municipal or district court which has jurisdiction of such property may transfer the same to the jurisdiction of any other court, including courts of another state or federal courts, where it is shown to the satisfaction of the court that such property is required as evidence in any prosecution in such other court.

(Ord. 842, Sec. 1)

When property seized is no longer required as evidence, it shall be disposed of as follows:

(a)   Property stolen, embezzled, obtained by false pretenses, or otherwise obtained unlawfully from the rightful owner thereof shall be restored to the owner.

(b)   Property which is unclaimed or the ownership of which is unknown shall be sold at public auction to be held by the chief of police and the proceeds shall be paid into the city clerk to be credited to the general operating f und.

(c)   Articles of contraband shall be destroyed, except that any articles which may be capable of innocent use may in the discretion of the court having jurisdiction be sold and the proceeds disposed of as provided in subsection (b).

(d)   Firearms, ammunition, explosives, bombs, and like devises, which have been used in the commission of crime, may be returned to the rightful owner, destroyed or sold in the discretion of the court having jurisdiction of the property. The sale and distribution of the proceeds shall be as provided in K.S.A. 21-4206 and K.S.A. 20-2801, in event that the district court of Montgomery County, Kansas, has jurisdiction of such cause; otherwise, the sale and distribution of the proceeds shall be as provided in subsection (b).

(e)   Unless otherwise provided by law, all other property shall be disposed of in such manner as the municipal court in its sound discretion shall direct.

(Ord. 842, Sec. 2)