By PHYLLIS ZORN

Staff writer

A former Marion police officer who resigned early this month after it became known that his past disqualified him as a law enforcement officer in Kansas had his certification officially revoked Tuesday.

Mike Stone was notified by letter dated Aug. 9 that his certification was revoked by Kansas Commission on Peace Officers’ Standards and Training.

Gary Steed, executive director of KCPOST, said Stone had 15 days to decide whether to appeal the commission’s decision.

Stone spent five years with Marion Police Department. Before that, he was a Butler County sheriff’s deputy and Florence police chief.

Stone was convicted of domestic violence in 1995 in Kern County (California) Superior Court. In 1997 he withdrew his guilty plea, entered a plea of not guilty, and the case was dismissed.

The dismissal is equivalent to an expungement in Kansas, the order reads.

Steed said it is the responsibility of each agency that hires an officer to do a background check before hiring.

Marion police chief Tyler Mermis said the California matter showed up as a dismissal during Stone’s background check.

Butler County Sheriff Kelly Herzet, when asked why the conviction did not prevent Stone being hired by Butler County, said the decision was made by a previous sheriff.

“I was a deputy back then and I had nothing to do with what went on in the front office,” Herzet said.