Former candidate for governor upset with tasing during arrest

By PHYLLIS ZORN

Staff writer

A Wichita woman is trying a protest in Marion to fight what she claims on social media is “corruption.”

Jennifer Winn, who calls herself an advocate, is a three-time unsuccessful candidate for political office who runs a landscape maintenance company in Wichita.

She is protesting alleged mistreatment of Marion resident Ricky LeShure by police officers during his April 4, 2018 arrest where he was tased in the parking lot of Hillsboro Community Hospital. LeShure refused to stop at Cedar St. in Marion and reportedly led officers on a 90 mph chase on US-56 to just past HCH, made a U-turn, and headed back to the hospital parking lot.

After making the U-turn, LeShure’s car collided at low speed with a Marion police car. Neither car was disabled.

In a video posted on Winn’s social media page, she discusses the incident with LeShure. LeShure describes “a cop accelerating” toward his vehicle as he made the U-turn.

“It was their intentional hitting of your car that could have absolutely cost the life of everyone in it,” Winn said.

Winn called former deputy David Harper-Head, who tased LeShure “a crooked cop that violated his authority in every aspect.” She said Harper-Head pulled LeShure from the car before tasing him.

LeShure said he was driving his girlfriend’s daughter to the hospital for treatment of a knife wound.

In the video, LeShure said he drove to HCH instead of St. Luke Hospital in Marion because of alleged “misdiagnoses” at St. Luke. St. Luke sued him for unpaid medical bills a few months before the incident.

His girlfriend and her daughter also were pulled from the car and placed on the ground.

“Here’s where it gets corrupt — beyond corrupt,” Winn said on the video. “They have Rick down on the ground and officer Harper-Head decides to turn around and tase him, just because he can.”

“They just tased me, and I was trying to cooperate,” LeShure said.

“And the chief of police and the sheriff of this town, you’re still employed? Really?” Winn said.

LeShure was charged with fleeing or attempting to elude police and aggravated endangerment of a child. His trial, originally scheduled for Monday, was postponed at LeShure’s request and has not been rescheduled.

Winn wants to have protesters at the courthouse when his trial begins.

County attorney Joel Ensey said a plea agreement was being negotiated.

Winn called Ensey “the prosecutor who allegedly came in to clean up the mess.”

“’We’re gonna make you pay,’” Winn guided him in saying. “Pay for what? Trying to save a child? You’re the criminals. All of you. And you all deserve to be locked up in a cage.”

LeShure’s girlfriend, Brandy N. Bosley, also was arrested and later charged with possession of methamphetamine, marijuana, hydrocodone, and drug paraphernalia, and interference with law enforcement.

Those charges were dismissed Nov. 19.

“They tried to put all kinds of crazy charges on her,” LeShure said. “They tried to put drug charges on her. And there was no drugs.”

On June 20, Winn posted “OMG … we just got the video of officer Harperhead (sic) in Marion torturing this family. We are scrambling to get this released … You want to see public outcry? Just wait!”

As further “proof” of corruption in Marion, Winn mentioned former Marion police officer Mike Stone, who resigned in 2018 after a complaint was submitted to the state Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training that Stone was disqualified from police certification because of a 1995 California conviction of misdemeanor domestic violence.

Winn was contacted and was unable to be reached by press time.

“I’ve heard some people comment on a situation but I have no knowledge of it,” CEO Margaret Grismer said. Grismer has been with HCH since January.

In 2018, Winn ran as a Democrat for District 100 in the Kansas House of Representatives. She was defeated by incumbent Daniel Hawkins.

In 2015, Winn ran for mayor of Wichita and was defeated in the primary.

In 2014, Winn ran as a Republican for governor, losing to Sam Brownback in the primary.