Wichita police accountant accused of stealing school donations, fees is on diversion

A former Wichita police associate accountant charged with stealing thousands of dollars from the city entered into a diversion agreement with the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office on Monday. The agreement calls for Shauna Dickman to pay the city $39,653.45 in restitution, attend a theft education program and perform 40 hours of community service.

Her attorney did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

Prosecutors charged Dickman with two counts of felony theft in April after an investigation showed she took money for years to pay for personal expenses that likely included credit card debt, taxes, a new home and vacations. Her misdeeds came to light after money raised during a 2022 golf tournament for Wichita School District playground equipment didn’t add up and cash wasn’t deposited into the bank, The Eagle previously reported.

The city also discovered other financial discrepancies, including missing money that had been raised for school supplies and a shortfall in cash deposits from the police division that gets money from fingerprinting application fees for private security licenses. An audit reviewed all cash transactions from 2018 to 2023 because Dickman was in a position “that processed a large amount” of them, a probable cause affidavit says.

In all, the city calculated its losses at $43,568.45 from raffles, cash donations and other discrepancies, according to the affidavit. The thefts she was charged with took place sometime between May 2019 and March 2023.

Prosecutors agreed to defer prosecution of Dickman and dismiss the theft charges after one year if she follows the conditions of her diversion agreement. The agreement, provided to The Eagle on Wednesday morning, says Dickman must not violate any laws, has to work or go to school full-time, can’t leave Kansas without permission, must maintain a working phone with voicemail, must return all calls from the diversion office within 24 hours and has to report to the diversion office by mail or in person once a month for a year, among other conditions.

The agreement also demands Dickman pay $39,653.45 in restitution to the city within three months to reimburse it for the thefts, as well as pay a variety of fees, including $170 for diversion costs, $195 in court costs and a $33 jail processing fee.

It also requires Dickman attend a theft education program within two months and perform 40 hours of community service by next July.

The order granting the diversion, signed by District Judge Jeff Syrios, says Dickman “voluntarily consented” to the deferred prosecution and “has agreed to be tried on stipulated facts, should trial become necessary.”

Dickman resigned from the police department on March 9, 2023, the same day she returned some of the missing money. She started working for the city in 2001 and was previously praised by the police department in a 2015 Facebook post “for her outstanding accuracy in financial document entry.”

Wichita police Chief Joe Sullivan previously said the department is disappointed in Dickman’s “alleged actions” and that they are “not characteristic” of the agency’s employees.

Vacations, credit card debt: Wichita police accountant was stealing, court records allege

Wichita police accountant charged with stealing from city