LEXINGTON, Ky. — A Lexington police officer resigned last month after a department review board recommended he be fired over a series of incidents in which supervisors say he was disoriented and impaired on and off duty after consuming the herbal substance kratom, according to internal records.
Officer John Gibbons II submitted his resignation effective Aug. 8, one day after Chief Lawrence Weathers formally recorded it in a personnel order. The resignation came after the Disciplinary Review Board voted on July 28 to recommend termination and before the chief met with Gibbons to discuss discipline, the documents show.
Weathers wrote in a July 2 memorandum that he had already recommended termination following a formal complaint and a Public Integrity Unit investigation. Gibbons had requested the matter be heard by the board; after it recommended firing, he resigned, Weathers noted.
The department’s internal probe, led by Lt. Joe Anderson, centered on an overnight March 29, 2025 incident in which a supervisor found Gibbons on duty in a marked unit “disoriented and confused.” The officer acknowledged consuming kratom that night, according to the investigative summary. Sgt. Phillip Johnson reported locating two empty 12-milliliter bottles of a concentrated kratom extract in Gibbons’ glove box and relieved him of duty pending testing. A standard drug and alcohol screen came back negative, but the provider later told the department it does not test for legal substances such as kratom, the memo states.
Investigators also documented earlier episodes tied to kratom use, including: a June 13, 2024 on-duty incident at a Rally’s on Georgetown Road that drew 911 calls; an Aug. 31, 2024 single-vehicle, on-duty crash after striking a median that flattened two tires and damaged equipment; an Oct. 11, 2024 off-duty crash into the I-75 median while driving his personal vehicle with his child aboard; and a Dec. 31, 2024 off-duty episode that prompted a welfare response and preceded a period of leave for treatment before his Feb. 19, 2025 return, according to PIU records. Gibbons told investigators that from late summer through December 2024, using the liquid extract had become “nearly an everyday occurrence.”
The review board that recommended firing included Assistant Chiefs Brian Maynard and Sam Murdock, Commanders Darin Salyer, Dan Burnett, and Chris Cooper, Sergeants Brad Hawkins and William Powers, and citizen members Darlene Barber and Allison Connelly, according to a memo from PIU Commander David Biroschik. The board concluded Gibbons’ conduct was improper and sent its recommendation to the chief.
In a separate memorandum summarizing the case, Anderson wrote that Gibbons’ repeated use of kratom “caused him to become extremely impaired on multiple occasions,” undermining the department and violating its misconduct rule, which requires officers to conduct themselves in a way that reflects favorably on the agency both on and off duty.
The internal file also includes a plain-language overview of kratom, noting it is an herbal product that can produce stimulant- and opioid-like effects and has been linked in case reports to confusion, tremors, seizures, and other adverse outcomes. The briefing cites federal health information and lists the specific extract investigators say they found associated with Gibbons — a 150-milligram “Xtreme Speciosa” shot labeled for two 75-milligram servings per bottle.
Gibbons’ personnel action ends the department’s disciplinary process. The records do not reflect any criminal charges stemming from the kratom incidents. The case began with a May 29, 2025 formal complaint by Lt. Nathan Williams, which triggered the PIU investigation and ultimately the board’s vote and Gibbons’ resignation.
This story is based on Lexington Police Department internal memoranda, a disciplinary board report, and a personnel order obtained by The Lexington Times.