WATONGA – A judge last week declined to make permanent a protective order that had been in effect against former Watonga police chief Shawn Kays for nearly a year.
District Judge Paul Woodward said granting the order would have required a “pattern” of harassment by Kays against his ex-girlfriend, and that his alleged actions – distributing lewd photos of the woman last June – didn’t meet that standard.
But Woodward told Kays that he could easily cross that line with any additional harassment. Kays assured the judge there “won’t be any issues” in the future.
Woodward had asked both parties' attorneys -- Matthew Oppel for Kays, and Billy Bock for the woman -- whether they could agree on a continuation of the order. But Oppel maintained that Kays was not interested in continuing the order and would rather see it dismissed outright.
Woodward said he couldn't continue the order for more than six months without both lawyers' agreement, and therefore ruled against the permanent order.
Kays was dismissed from the Watonga police on June 14, 2021, the same day the protective order was filed.
Kays is scheduled back in Watonga on May 27 for a preliminary hearing about the felony burglary and misdemeanor assault charges against him. Those charges stem from a rough arrest Kays conducted in 2019 while he was chief of police, and were filed in July 2021.
Kays is also facing federal gun charges and is set for a jury trial in June. His attorney in that case, David Autry, has filed multiple pending motions seeking to have those counts dismissed.
Prosecutors allege that Kays purchased and possessed firearms he was not supposed to have while under a protective order and while his Blaine County case was pending.