• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Sandhenge Publications

Jim Potter, Author

  • About the Author
  • Author Blog
    • Sign Up for Jim’s Posts
  • Blog Podcasts
  • Contact the Author
  • Read the Behind the Books Blog
    • Listen to the Audio Blog
  • Check Book Reviews
  • Sign Up to Receive Blog Posts
  • All Books

Richard Wickliffe

August 21, 2019 by Jim Potter 12 Comments

http://jimpotterauthor.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Captain-Richard-Wickliffe.mp3

· Captain Richard Wickliffe

Giving, Not Taking ·

Richard Wickliffe, 2019

People who know Richard Wickliffe remark about how he’s always calm. I’ve never seen him upset. So, when we sat down together for an interview, I had to see if he would share his secret. And while I was at it, maybe I’d also learn how a guy who retired from the Hutchinson Police Department (HPD) in 2001 at age 64, still looks young enough to be running marathons.

Richard, a/k/a/ “Wick”, didn’t reveal his secret of eternal youth but he did explain that being concerned doesn’t mean you have to be excited. “If you stay calm, you can realize more things,” he said. When Wick showed me a newspaper clipping about his retirement, sure enough, the headline proclaimed, “‘Unflappable’ Wickliffe retiring.” Dick Heitschmidt, the police chief at the time, remarked, “He’s a calm man who thinks very well under pressure, and he’s a very personable guy with probably the best people skills in the department.”

Wickliffe said he “was no spring chicken when he joined HPD” at age 31. He had already served three years in the US Army, the armored infantry, being stationed overseas in Germany. After that, he had worked seven years at Carey Salt sacking the salt and loading it onto railroad cars and trucks.

Due to the influence of well-respected HPD officer Robbie Robinson, Wick changed careers. Robinson “talked me into going down to apply,” remembers Wickliffe. Richard explained why he was hesitant: “I thought I’d have to quit all the fun things I used to do. I’d go down to the beer joint and hang out, but never got in trouble.” It turned out, PD allowed socializing as long as officers stayed out of trouble.

The police department had a four-beat system for calls and a fifth car to respond as an over rider. There was one officer per car unless a recruit was in training. And the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center was just getting established, so training was done in-house. The department worked eight-hour shifts.

Hutchinson Police Department’s commission card, 1974, the year Wickliffe was promoted to investigator.

Early on, Wick was assigned to the south part of town since that’s where he lived. Since he knew a lot of people, it was helpful. He, like many officers, wanted to get on Robinson’s detail because they wanted to learn his way of doing things. “Robbie was pretty calm,” remembered Wickliffe.

Wick recalled one arrest he made around 8th and Plum. “There was a white guy who I wasn’t going to arrest but he gave me so much mouth that I put him under arrest.” He kept after me, “I want to see your supervisor! Who’s your boss?”

Interrupting, I laughed and agreed. “Yeah, some people don’t seem to understand that you can talk yourself into a ticket and into going to jail.”

“Okay, you’ll see him but you’re still under arrest,” continued Wickliffe. “He couldn’t wait to see my supervisor. I didn’t tell him anything. I wanted him to be shocked.”

Finally, at the station, Lt. Robinson, a black man, not the expected white one, walked into the room and met the arrestee. I can only imagine the fun Wickliffe and Robinson must have had when the lieutenant asked the unhappy customer, “What’s the problem?”

Wickliffe recalled the night of September 15, 1972 when HPD Officer Kenneth Kennedy, 23 years old, was shot and killed while making an undercover buy of alcohol in a bootlegging and gambling operation at Robert E. Lee’s Barbeque, 918 S. Plum. Michael Coldren, a reserve officer who was working with Kennedy, was shot and wounded. Wickliffe was one of the first officers at the scene and transported Coldren to the hospital. The shooter, a women friend of the seller of the alcohol, was wounded from Kennedy’s return fire. In 1973 she was convicted of second degree murder and aggravated assault and sentenced to two 15-year-to-life sentences.

Officers dealt with Kennedy’s death in different ways, recalled Wickliffe. “Some of them were very shook about it. They’d drive out at night and wait for calls.”

I’d heard stories that the Hutchinson Police Department’s station and city jail was in pretty bad shape prior to its move to the current Law Enforcement Center (210 W 1st) in 1971. In fact, one local attorney called it a “medieval bastille.” The chief at that time couldn’t disagree.

Wickliffe told me that the old police station was on B street (16 East Ave B). There was a jail at the back. It was a big bull pen that held drunks. (Females had individual cells but you had to go outside to access that area.) “For minor crimes we’d arrest them and book them there at the police department and then put them in the holding cell”, said Wickliffe. “Major crimes we took to the county jail at the court house. On the misdemeanor arrests, the people could bond out or wait until the next day to see the judge. Municipal Court was in the front of the building.”

Every officer or former officer remembers a special arrest. Wickliffe recalls an armed robbery that occurred in 1970 at a McDonald’s Drive-in (20 W 4th) where one of the two men shot off a round to get the manager to hurry up and open the safe.  The Wichita criminals were also overheard discussing whether to kill the witnesses, but they decided to leave without murdering anyone. Within fifteen minutes of the robbery being reported to the police, Wickliffe, northbound on Adams, spotted a car facing west on 7th that made a left turn onto Adams.

Wickliffe recalled, “I was close enough to the suspect vehicle to see the driver make an ‘oh, shit’ facial expression—as he turned to go south on Adams. I turned my patrol vehicle around on Adams and was able to see a Sedgwick County tag on the suspect vehicle. Then I made a felony traffic stop in the 600 block of north Adams.”

The driver jumped out to talk to Wickliffe to try and keep the officer away from the suspicious vehicle. Since Wick had a reserve officer with him, the second officer checked the car for additional people. The second robber was laying on the passenger’s front floorboard, at first trying to hide, but then saying he was sick. When the officers got him out, a .38 caliber gun and a brown paper bag of stolen money was visible on the floorboard.

Hutchinson Police Department had introductory officer safety cards as give-aways circa 1995. Wickliffe’s safety message: “Attitude is a small thing that makes a big difference – be all that you can be.”

Wickliffe told me how today’s new chief, Jeffrey Hooper, has all his officers involved in community policing, not just one designated unit. Wick recalled when he headed a community policing unit that worked out of an office at the Hutchinson Mall. Chief Dick Heitschmidt had been instrumental in changing the department by getting officers involved in the community. But it was a tough sell. Wickliffe said Dick had a split department with some of the brass resistant to the new policing.

In our conversation, Wick and I barely mentioned the natural gas explosions which occurred in Hutchinson in January 2001, destroying two downtown businesses and killing two people. The uncertainty of where the next gas geyser or explosion would occur created a lot of worry in the community. But Captain Wickliffe was a stabilizing and calming influence to the department and to the public.

As I neared the end of our interview, I figured Wick would have plenty to say about how he had put up with racism and hatred. Much to my surprise, he said he really didn’t run into it much and the couple of times he did, he dealt with it personally. Like ‘No Drama Obama’, end of story, next question.

I looked again at Wick’s retirement plaque. He had a full law enforcement career beginning as a patrolman in 1968; and being promoted, first as an investigator in 1974; then a sergeant, 1976; lieutenant, 1987; and captain, 1998. The plaque’s inscription summed it up: “33 Years Served Faithfully And Honorably.”

“Do you have any regrets?” was my last query.

“No, replied Wickliffe, “I was promoted as high as I wanted. Chief was too political. I was happy.”

Richard and his wife Maxine (a/k/a Max), who worked for the Reno County Sheriff’s Office, both ended their long, productive careers on the same day. They walked out of the Law Enforcement Center together on December 28, 2001 and put their guns and badges away.

Until next time, happy writing and reading!

 

 

 

 

 

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Blog posts Tagged With: Captain Wickliffe, Chief Heitschmidt, Chief Hooper, community policing, Dick Heitschmidt, historical research, HPD, Hutchinson Kansas, Hutchinson Police Department, Jeffrey Hooper, Jim Potter, Ken Kennedy, Kenneth Kennedy, Maxine Wickliffe, Richard Wickliffe, Robbie Robinson, Wick

Sign Up for the Blog

You will never have to check this site for the latest blog post, and you’ll get the latest and the greatest first! You will receive a confirmation email that you must respond to in order to be officially subscribed.

IMPORTANT! Check your Junk and Spam folders as needed!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Alex says

    August 21, 2019 at 9:31 am

    Richard, thanks for your leadership!

    Reply
    • Jim Potter says

      August 21, 2019 at 10:31 am

      Yes, he certainly made a big difference in our community.

      Reply
  2. Lynn Ledeboer says

    August 21, 2019 at 10:35 am

    As always, great interview – and great subject!

    Reply
    • Jim Potter says

      August 21, 2019 at 10:38 am

      Thanks, Lynn. On Facebook I’m planning on some shout-outs for the Reno County Museum’s upcoming October exhibition on the Hutchinson Police Department. Are you still looking for HPD artifacts and photos? Jim

      Reply
  3. Rock says

    August 21, 2019 at 10:42 am

    Jim, you are such a good interviewer. Very well done, sir. I am always impressed. Rock

    Reply
  4. Nancy Julien Kopp says

    August 21, 2019 at 2:51 pm

    Nice tribute and well done, too, Jim. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
    • Jim Potter says

      August 21, 2019 at 4:12 pm

      Thanks, Nancy.

      Reply
  5. Phil Wood says

    August 21, 2019 at 10:53 pm

    I remember meeting Wick as I walked toward a burning building after the explosion . He very calmly told me to be careful and not get too close. I have never forgotten how calm he was under very difficult conditions. I was impressed and did as he suggested without question.

    Reply
    • Jim Potter says

      August 22, 2019 at 6:35 am

      Yes, what an asset. Even in the middle of chaos. Amazing!

      Reply
  6. Sean says

    August 22, 2019 at 6:38 am

    Hi Jim, thanks for the latest blog. You do know some interesting people and write about them really well, friendly but not patronising. Take Care, Sean

    Reply
  7. Mariyn Bolton says

    August 23, 2019 at 4:23 pm

    What an upper to read this interview! Thank you.

    Reply
    • Jim Potter says

      August 23, 2019 at 5:41 pm

      Thank you, Marilyn. Hope you’re doing well.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Jim Potter, Author

author

Recent Blog Posts

  • Medical Support of the Fifth Division in World War II-Part 4 May 17, 2022
  • Medical Support of the Fifth Division in World War II-Part 3 May 8, 2022
  • Medical Support of the Fifth Division in World War II-Part 2 May 3, 2022
  • Medical Support of the Fifth Division in World War II-Part 1 April 29, 2022
  • Upcoming Book Release: “Deputy Jennings Meets the Amish” April 22, 2022

If you prefer to listen . . .

If you prefer to listen to my blog posts, you can do so … List of podcasts about Podcasts

Follow Jim on Facebook

Follow Jim on Facebook

Post Archives

  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • January 2019
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017

What People Are Saying

Denise Low, author of Jackalope (Red Mountain Press)

Jim Potter is a cop, retired, but he brings deep understanding of this job to his novel Taking Back the Bullet: Trajectories of Self-Discovery. This layered novel has literary dimensions as characters explore crisis situations. Congratulations to this fine writer for his debut novel.

Rebecca from Proud Police Wife

Taking Back the Bullet is an emotional, yet captivating novel. Jim Potter does a superb job of intertwining each character and putting their individual identities on display. All law enforcement storylines are a true reflection of Potter’s years as a police officer because they are realistic and relatable. This is a book I highly recommend.

Dennis Perrin, educator

Masterful storytelling, exquisite character development, so real as to HURT and HOPE, a real page turner. Begs for stage, screenwriters, and visual episodic development a.k.a. TV series . . . Thanks Jim Potter for telling it like it is AND providing us visions of how it could be. Well done!

Rebecca Schillaci

As a former law enforcement officer, I found the story very relatable as it details the life of a law enforcement officer and the struggles some face throughout their careers. . . Taking Back the Bullet is a journey of understanding, respect, and forgiveness . . .

Sheryl Remar

I enjoyed the different stories of this book because Tom, James, and Suanna, the three main characters, represent in their own way the different struggles with themselves and society’s idea of what is normal.

John & Cindy Morrill, 20 years Air Force retired, 17 years law enforcement

I enjoyed your book. When I am looking for a new read, I always read the first page, last page and choose a random page somewhere in the middle before I decide to buy it. You had me on all three pages. I also like reading a book where you can relate to the characters and the settings in which they live and work. It makes a story more realistic if you can say, I am familiar with the area; I know where that town is or I have traveled that street. It was easy to relate to the characters. In one way or another, I have met them all somewhere in my journeys.

Judy Hawk

. . . I was impressed with the Native American information as well as the depth of character development . . . .

Wynona Winn, PhD, retired school superintendent

Three main characters walk different paths but with the same destination – each coping with his or her self-discovery, self-identity, and self-realization. Much like their earlier counterparts – Huck Finn and Holden Caulfield – their journeys are often joyous, often tedious and often tragic.

Diana Dester

Good story line, building the characters along the way. Great job!

Deb Theis, LSCSW, clinical therapist/hypnotherapist

Jim Potter has done it again! After his book, Cop in the Classroom: Lessons I’ve Learned, Tales I’ve Told, Jim has written another great work. In Taking Back the Bullet: Trajectories of Self-Discovery, Jim Potter takes us on an insightful journey into the lives and relationships of numerous characters. Jim is such a talented storyteller that the reader quickly becomes immersed and has a ‘bonding experience’ with each of the characters, feeling their joy, fear, passion and pain. Jim’s novel speaks to the empowerment of persistence with the characters as they work through their trials. As a therapist, I appreciated the heartfelt struggles from each of the characters and their diversity. I also found value in the novel’s understanding of society’s misunderstanding of both mental health and other conditions in which people struggle. The novel contains rich exposure to various realities that many of us do not know about . . . but should. When I finished this captivating novel, I was wanting to read the sequel! It was an honor and a wonderful, mesmerizing experience reading this book. Congratulations, Jim!

Jane Holzrichter

I finished it last night around midnight. What a great piece of work. It kept me intrigued all the way to the end.

Sean McArdle, Winchester, England

Retired police officer Potter’s novel centres on very disparate characters and through the tried and tested means of gradually introducing each one, builds a sense of anticipation about what is going to happen to them. This often used methodology is not easy to do well but is superbly handled by Potter who knows how to give enough detail to bring the characters to life, yet not too much so as to slow down the pace of the developing story. A climactic event affects the main characters and it is at this point Potter’s deep knowledge of people and police procedures really hits home; page by page we read how a seemingly simple, though terrible occurrence, can have huge consequences. To Potter’s credit the story does not have a completely conclusive or simplistic ending. Instead it leaves the reader thinking about how the events of a single minute can affect lives forever. I would whole heartedly recommend this book not as a crime novel or even as a novel about crime but as a beautiful and positive affirmation about what it is to be human and how ultimately it is relationships which matter more than events.

Morgan Penner

Taking Back the Bullet is a novel that provides the reader with a window into the world of law enforcement. As the novel unfolds, the reader is able to see how split-second decisions alter the lives of the main characters in the story. Taking Back the Bullet also explores how humanity is impacted by mental illness. One of my favorite quotes from Taking Back the Bullet is “We’re all just a critical moment from being disabled or mentally ill, and we don’t want to think about it.” The novel also provides the reader an opportunity to gain a better understanding of how mental illness impacts the individuals, their family, friends, and society. Taking Back the Bullet is a story of forgiveness and overcoming life’s struggles and tragedies.

Steve Becker

I’m impressed. It was an excellent read. . . . I hope you continue with more projects in the future.

Larry Kruckman, anthropologist

Jim Potter displays ethnographic skills in Taking Back the Bullet: Trajectories of Self-Discovery, creating vivid scenes and fascinating characters. The Greeks had a word for subcultures and people’s behavior: ‘ethos,’ or ‘ways of being.’ In colorful, sometimes marvelous detail, this novel captures various people and settings . . . the ethos of rural Kansas: a jail, art fair, powwow, rehab center, courtroom, albinos, and even someone in the throes of postpartum depression. So detailed are the descriptions that they must be drawn from the author’s personal experience. Besides the artfully created characters such as the struggling jailer and husband Tom Jennings, local artist Jesse Thomas, and Native American Joe Morningcloud, there is a tight story line that grabs your attention and won’t let go. Human tensions, love, conflict, joys and sorrows are all there. Magically, all the many pieces come together in a final crescendo, giving hope that even when we find ourselves in big trouble we can survive. This is a novel I highly recommend!

Larry Kruckman
Anthropologist
Karleen Wilson-Moon

Terrific story relevant to today’s social issues . . . well written . . . likable characters . . . insightful perspective from an insider in law enforcement.

Karleen Wilson-Moon

Copyright © 2022 Sandhenge Publications · Website by Rosemary Miller

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.