Ex-Lawrence police officer arrested on suspicion of rape

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A former Lawrence police officer has been arrested on suspicion of rape and other counts after a woman said he sexually assaulted her while he was on-duty five years ago. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation says in a news release that 41-year-old Jonathan Gardner, of Tonganoxie, was arrested Friday morning at an intersection in Tonganoxie by KBI agents and Kansas Highway Patrol troopers. Gardner is being held in the Leavenworth County Jail on $50,000 bond. Gardner’s employment with the Lawrence Police Department recently ended after a woman reported in November that he had raped her on Jan. 1, 2017. In addition to the rape count, Gardner faces 24 other counts for reportedly conducting illegal and unauthorized searches of police computer records.