Gov. Kelly vetoes Bane’s Law, says legislation needs more study
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WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — On Friday, Governor Laura Kelly vetoed House Bill 2583, also known as Bane’s Law.
The law would have seen penalties increased for those who kill or permanently disable police animals.
The bill was drafted in response to the killing of a Sedgwick County police dog named Bane. The K-9 chased an armed suspect into a storm drain, where he was beaten and ultimately killed.
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Introduced and passed in the Kansas House with a 115-6 vote and then passing in the Kansas Senate with a 25-15 vote, Kelly said while the bill is commendable, it needs more evaluation and study.
The death of any law enforcement animal is a tragedy. There is no question we should hold those responsible accountable for their actions. While the intention of this bill is commendable, this legislation needs further evaluation and study. First, House Bill 2583 imposes mandatory minimum sentences that disregard important factors that should be left to the discretion of a judge through the regular sentencing process. Second, the mandatory sentences are out of line with other, more severe crimes without justification for why that is required. Third, while the requirement for a psychological evaluation and anger management program are important, we do not apply this same standard to many other heinous crimes.
Therefore, under Article 2, Section 14(a) of the Constitution, I hereby veto House Bill 2583.”
Gov. Laura Kelly
Kansas House Speaker Dan Hawkins sent a response to Kelly’s decision in a press release Friday:
The political pettiness leading to this veto is truly appalling. Most heartbreaking is the thought of how many more police dogs could be injured or lose their lives in service due to this political stunt. An incredible amount of time, effort, and funding goes into the intense training these highly specialized police dogs and horses receive. The fact that the current criminal penalties for harming a police animal are lower than other animal cruelty laws is a disgrace to both them and their caretaker officers. This veto is a slap in the face of all law enforcement. We look forward to overriding the Governor’s veto and ensuring these animals and law enforcement receive the support and protection they deserve.”
Dan Hawkins, Kansas House Speaker
KSN reached out to the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office for comment. Sheriff Jeff Easter called the veto “disheartening.
“The laws that are currently on the books are not harsh enough penalties,” Easter told KSN. “That’s why this was proposed, was voted through the committee in both houses.”
“I’ve read the governor’s statement, and if there’s some things there that we can go back and maybe help tweak or fix, that’s an option that’s available to us,” Easter said. “I don’t want to see this go away completely because I think it is so fruitful that we have a law like this in place for folks that kill our K-9s.”
Bane was the K-9 for Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Deputy Tyler Brooks. He received Bane after his previous handler, Wichita Police Department officer Daniel Gumms, passed away from cancer.
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the K-9 was killed on Nov. 16, 2023, after the WPD domestic intervention and violence reduction team was in the area of Pawnee and Rock trying to locate a 24-year-old man suspected of robbery.
The suspect, later identified as Kaylon Kirkwood, barricaded himself in a drain and Bane, among other K-9s, were sent into the drain.
WPD said at the time they believed Kirkwood allegedly strangled Bane, who was retrieved from the drain. CPR was performed, but they were not able to revive him.
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