A former member of the Kaw Nation Tribal Police accused of battering the subject of a police pursuit is walking away with little punishment because the victim has disappeared, according to the Cowley County Attorney’s Office.
Alan Dean Harp of Newkirk was charged with aggravated battery last August following the pursuit of Jimmy Carrol Rankin Sr., Ponca City. The pursuit began in Newkirk when a Newkirk police officer spotted Rankin, then 53, driving erratically.
Several other law enforcement agencies joined the chase. Rankin managed to avoid spike strips at several locations. The chase ended in Arkansas City after Rankin ran out of gas.
Rankin wound up in a Wichita hospital with a fractured skull, nose and broken cheekbone. Harp was arrested several months later following an investigation into Rankin’s injuries. He pled guilty May 1 to a reduced charge of simple battery, the county attorney’s office reported. At least one bench warrant was pending against Rankin at the time.
Harp was sentenced to 60 days in the county jail but the sentence was diverted until June 1 to give Harp time to pay off court costs. He is no longer a member of the Tribal Police.