May 31-- A protective order filed against a Tulsa police captain by his former girlfriend was dismissed Tuesday because the order's provisions are covered by the laws protecting witnesses in criminal investigations.
Keena Roberts claimed in her request for the protective order, filed April 27 in Osage County, that Capt. Shawn King had threatened her and her children and had engaged in a sex act with one of her children, who was a minor at the time. King's lawyer said the allegations are unfounded.
Roberts' attorney, Scott Graham, said that because of an ongoing investigation into King by Osage County authorities, the protective order was redundant.
Osage County Associate District Judge B. David Gambill stated in his order that "due to Osage County's ongoing criminal investigation, the petition for protective order is hereby dismissed."
Osage County Undersheriff Lou Ann Brown said Wednesday that the investigation into King is ongoing but that the main investigator aims to present the findings thus far to the district attorney on Friday.
King has not been charged.
The first-shift supervisor for the Tulsa Police Department's Gilcrease Division, King is on administrative duty during the investigation, Officer Leland Ashley said Wednesday.
He was suspended without pay April 8-14 because he "engaged in sexual activity while on-duty, in your patrol unit, in an area near the Tulsa Zoo" in 2009, according to a personnel order dated April 3.
Meanwhile, another Tulsa police officer who was named last month in a This Land Press article that detailed allegations against King filed a lawsuit Friday against the publication and Roberts.
Officer Christy Kellerhals, King's former girlfriend, claims in the lawsuit that the publication, Roberts and the article's author, Joshua Kline, invaded her privacy by publishing details about her relationship with King and that Kline and This Land Press libeled her in their representation of some facts.
The lawsuit, filed by Kellerhals in Tulsa County District Court, details five claims against This Land Press and Kline. Four of the five claims include Roberts.
The lawsuit states that King and Kellerhals became romantically involved in 2007, seven years after she joined the Police Department. They were in a relationship for more than two years before it ended, and both maintained a "personal and professional rapport," the suit states.
King and Kellerhals shared "private photographs of a sexual nature between themselves and recorded videos of themselves engaged in sexual activities," the lawsuit states.
In 2009, King began a relationship with Roberts, and Roberts sent Kellerhals a message shortly afterward to ask her to not contact King anymore, the lawsuit states.
Roberts became suspicious of King in 2011 and "broke the lock on a closet door and located a password-protected laptop computer" in it, the lawsuit alleges.
It says she accessed the computer and discovered the images of King and Kellerhals.
"Roberts' viewing of the images enraged her, and she then set out on a course of events designed to destroy the private and professional lives of (Kellerhals) and King," Kellerhals' lawsuit states.
Roberts presented the laptop to the Police Department's Internal Affairs Unit and the FBI, and both declined to take action, the lawsuit says.
It states that Roberts presented the laptop to This Land Press, which led to the April 26 article.
The article "discussed intimate details of the relationship between (Kellerhals) and King," the lawsuit states.
This Land Press published two photos of Kellerhals in an online version of the story, and "one of the pictures depicted (Kellerhals) leaning forward to reveal cleavage in a decommissioned TPD shirt."
The lawsuit claims that the photos were stolen and were taken by Kellerhals at home while she was off duty and were "sent to King solely for his viewing."
The photos were removed from the website the next day.
The lawsuit claims that This Land Press, Kline and Roberts invaded her privacy in three ways -- by the publication of private facts, by intrusion "upon the solitude and seclusion of (Kellerhals') private affairs," and by appropriation.
The fourth claim alleges that Kline and This Land Press made "materially false statements regarding the number of images and videos involving (Kellerhals) found on King's laptop." The last claim is against This Land Press, Kline and Roberts and alleges intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The lawsuit claims that the images of Kellerhals and facts about her "are of no legitimate public concern." Any alleged issues of public concern were related to King and "could have, and should have, been reported without any mention of (Kellerhals)," the lawsuit states.
Graham declined to comment about the lawsuit filed against Roberts. Calls made to Kellerhals' attorney were not returned.
Michael Mason, editor of This Land Press, also declined to comment and directed questions to the law firm of Conner and Winters.
An attorney said Wednesday that the firm had been retained recently and had no comment at present.
Jerry Wofford 918-581-8310
Copyright 2012 - Tulsa World, Okla.
