Wichita police officer charged in separate 2021 incidents

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a Wichita police officer has been charged with battery and disorderly conduct for separate incidents reported last year. Television station KAKE reports that prosecutors charged Officer Andrew Barnett with the misdemeanor counts. Officials say the first charge accuses Barnett of battering a prisoner in May. The second accuses him of disorderly conduct at the Eisenhower National Airport in December while he was off-duty. Barnett, a five-year veteran of the Wichita Police Department, has been placed on unpaid administrative leave pending the outcome of his case.