Update: LaHarpe KS Police Chief Fired - KOAM TV 7

Update (3/23): According to the LaHarpe Mayor, Ashley Wright has been fired as the Police Chief.  The City Council voted to fire her last night, effective immediately.

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March 24, 2018:

Residents in a small Southeast Kansas town are reacting to the arrest of a police chief and preacher after a law enforcement altercation.  The incident happened on Tuesday in LaHarpe.  The Allen County sheriff says he was surprised that an altercation like this would happen between two law enforcement officials.  He says he was just doing his job, acting on a court order out of Texas.

A little more than six weeks ago a new police chief in the little town of LaHarpe...

"Five, 600 people," says Allen County Sheriff Bryan Murphy.

...Introduced herself to Murphy.

"She seemed to be cordial, very polite.  If there's anything you need, we're here to help.  Good exchange between the two of us, and we went on about our ways," says Murphy.

The next time their paths met...

"I've been in Allen County since 1994.  Never have I run across this before," says Murphy.

LaHarpe residents say they had been noticing odd things about the new chief, Ashley Wright, and her husband, David, who serves as a pastor at a church across the street from the police station.

"I could tell something just wasn't right with them," says a LaHarpe resident who doesn't want to be identified.

"He said when he was in Texas he used to take on the mafia," says the resident.

Residents say they saw David acting like a LaHarpe police officer.

"We had seen him driving the police car, and that is not proper because he doesn't have that authority," says the resident.

Once Murphy got wind of this allegation, he did some investigating and found a warrant for David out of Texas, where David was a former police chief.  Authorities there allege he was fired over the mishandling of an investigation into a boy who allegedly assaulted his daughter.

The Allen County Sheriff's Office went to David's church, where he and his wife also call home, to arrest him.

"We have a paper for him," says Murphy, talking about his conversation with Ashley.  "What kind of paper?  You can just give it to me.  We said no, it's not that kind of paper.  It's an arrest warrant.  Finally, last time, asked her to step out of the way.  At that point in time she refused, taken into custody, and arrested for interference."

David was also arrested and is in jail awaiting extradition to Texas.  LaHarpe residents admit this has been big drama for their little town.  They're also upset that even after Ashley's arrest, she wasn't suspended from her job, and allowed back into the police department.

We are being told by LaHarpe's mayor that City Council is meeting tonight to determine if Ashley will remain police chief.  Ashley told us she has no comment for our story.