Group calls for Probe in Killing of Indian Man Investigating Police Brutality

Petitions began circulating Tuesday night calling for a grand jury to investigate Cherokee County law enforcement, among other things. Nearly 20 people turned out for the first meeting of a group calling itself Cherokee County Citizens for Better Government. It was held in the 4-H building at the county fairgrounds. Among the issues the group wants a grand jury to investigate is the Aug. 26, 2003, death of Wyandotte, Okla., private investigator Jim Potts outside Galena. A gunshot entry wound was behind and below his right ear at the base of his skull. Investigators with the Cherokee County Sheriff's Department quickly determined that the death was a suicide. Potts had been investigating allegations of police brutality by the Galena Police Department and then-police Chief Cameron Arthur for Joplin, Mo., attorney Roger Johnson. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation has started its own investigation into Potts' death. "That's No. 1 on our agenda," said organizer Judy Evans at the end of the meeting. [more ]