Sheila Albers, mother of John Albers, speaks at a 2021 news conference where faith leaders condemned inconsistencies in the Overland Park Police Department’s reporting about her son’s death. (Carlos Moreno/KCUR 89.3)
TOPEKA — A secretive Kansas disciplinary board has dismissed a complaint against Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe for releasing a false narrative about the 2018 police killing of John Albers.
The Office of the Disciplinary Administrator concluded the complaint had merit but chose only to issue Howe a letter of caution, according to a letter obtained by Kansas Reflector.
Overland Park police officer Clayton Jenison shot and killed Albers in 2018 after responding to a 911 call from friends who worried the 17-year-old was suicidal. The officer resigned his position, and the city in 2019 settled a lawsuit with Sheila Albers, John’s mother, for $2.3 million, according to a KCUR report .
Howe issued a news release a month after the shooting in which he explained his decision not to file criminal charges against the police officer. But a 2022 report by the U.S. Justice Department, based on police dash cam video, contradicted Howe’s account.