Lenexa Police Chief Dawn Layman announced this week she will be retiring from the force to take up a new post in Colorado.
On Wednesday at a police use of force workshop at the Lenexa Justice Center, Layman announced that she will be ending her 32-year career with the Lenexa Police Department in December.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the men and women that work here in Lenexa,” she said. “I have a lot of faith in them. I know that the police department is going to continue to prosper after I leave.”
Layman said she would be taking a new job as Chief of Police for the Breckenridge, Colorado, Police Department.
“(It’s a) 35-member department,” she said of the new force she will lead. “(It runs) a little slower. I’m getting up there in age, and I think that’s going to be kind of a nice career (place) for me to end there.”
Layman added that her final day on the job in Lenexa would be Friday, Dec. 12.
Layman started as a patrol officer
Layman began her career with the Lenexa Police Department in 1993 as a patrol officer. From there, she served in a variety of roles and carried a number of titles, including detective, sergeant, lieutenant, captain, major and deputy chief.
After previous Police Chief Tom Hongslo announced his retirement, she was appointed to the role in December 2020, with a continued focus on furthering outreach and community policing efforts in the city.
Layman has been the department’s fourth police chief in its history and the second woman to hold the post, following Chief Ellen Hanson, who originally hired Layman in 1993.
In addition to her work at the Lenexa Police Department, she also served on the International Association of Chiefs of Police and twice as the president of the National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives.
Big changes happened under her tenure
During Layman’s five years as police chief, she oversaw a number of changes at the department, including:
- The department’s move to its new headquarters at the Lenexa Justice Center earlier last year, a $73 million project.
- The department adopting new technology like the Grappler Police Bumper system and drones as first responders.
- Expanded community engagement opportunities, including Workout with Lenexa Police, the Understanding Police Use of Force Workshop, National Night Out and formalizing the Community Advisory Board in 2021.
Layman leaves after rocky year for Lenexa PD
But Layman’s final year was marked by multiple challenges involving Lenexa Police that brought scrutiny to the department’s inner workings and protocols.
On June 22, 2025, a Lenexa police officer fatally shot Jose Enrique Cartagena Chacon, 25, of Grandview, Missouri, while responding to a 911 call of a man with a gun at a Lenexa apartment pool.
In October, Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe, accompanied by Layman, announced at a press conference that he would not press charges against the officers, saying they reasonably believed their lives were in danger because Chacon was holding a firearm, which was later determined to be an unloaded pellet gun, and refused to listen to the officers’ commands.
At the press conference and in a video published by the city, Layman expressed condolences to Chacon’s family.
“Loss of life is always tragic, and we recognize the impact this has on everyone involved,” Layman said, noting that she has personally maintained contact with Chacon’s family throughout the investigation. “Our thoughts are also with the two civilian victims in this case, both of whom feared for their lives during the incident, including the woman who courageously called 911 to report what she witnessed.”
Then, in August, Lenexa City Councilmember Melanie Arroyo announced at a city council meeting that Lenexa Police had asked her to prove her citizenship following an anonymous call to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation that questioned her immigration status.
During the meeting, Layman, who initially tipped Arroyo off to the investigation, apologized to Arroyo for the emotional harm it caused her.
“I apologize if I made you feel that way. That was not my intent, and I think we worked together for a very long time, that I was trying to make things easier for you in the long run,” she said.
City officials express pride, respect for Layman
Following her announcement, Lenexa Mayor Julie Sayers called Layman “an exemplary steward” of the Lenexa Police Department.
“Throughout her tenure she showed a deep commitment to building relationships with members of the public and the greater law enforcement community in Johnson County, ensuring a culture of trust, collaboration and innovation within our department and beyond,” she said in a statement to the Johnson County Post. “We are proud of her achievements and wish her the very best in her life’s next chapter.”
In addition, Lenexa City Manager Beccy Yocham expressed her pride in Layman’s work.
“The City of Lenexa and its Police Department are better because of Chief Layman’s forward-thinking and compassionate leadership. On behalf of the City of Lenexa, I thank Chief Layman for her remarkable dedication and wish her happiness and fulfillment in retirement,” she said via the city’s press release.
During Layman’s retirement announcement at the Understanding Use of Force Workshop, she said now was a good time to leave to let the department flourish.
“I think the time is right for me to leave so that others can grow this department just like I had the opportunity to,” she said.
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