Officer of the Year - when a good cop goes bad

By Diane Hettrick

By all accounts, 2006 Officer of the Year Mitch Wright was an exemplary officer in the Shoreline Police department. Former partners are enthusiastic about what a great guy he was and how much everyone liked him. Two different Shoreline police chiefs praise his work. Current chief Shawn Ledford says, “He was the kind of officer you want. Not the kind that waited for the 911 calls to come in, but the kind who went out and worked his area.” Wright made 160 arrests the year he was named Officer of the Year.

When the Seattle DEA office was putting together a task force in 2010 to focus on drugs along the SR 99 corridor, they requested an officer from each of the police departments in the area. Wright was the Shoreline officer assigned to the DEA task force.

Once an officer goes undercover with the DEA, they don’t interact on a regular basis with their old department. They do come in for required training sessions, department paperwork requirements, and proficiency exams. No one noticed anything different about Wright.

What Shoreline Chief Shawn Ledford wants the community to know is how many different police agencies cooperated in the investigations that led to the arrest of Mitch Wright and what good, solid police work was involved.

The first step in that solid police work was in Bothell, when a Bothell police officer patrolling an area known for drug activity checked out a vehicle sitting behind a building in the middle of the night. There was a woman behind the wheel, with a needle in her arm.

The woman was a police informant and the vehicle belonged to Wright. Shoreline was notified. Ledford put Wright on administrative leave and began an internal investigation. 

Wright and the woman were living together in Bothell and she was driving his car. He was a police officer and she was a police informant. The Sheriff’s Office has very strict rules about fraternizing with informants. Drugs were involved. The internal investigation was leading into a criminal investigation.

Wright resigned in July, just ahead of termination.

As the investigation continued, officers found enough evidence for the Sheriff’s department to begin a separate criminal investigation. Wright had drugs in his apartment, which apparently were the result of his undercover work and should have been booked as evidence in that Task Force investigation. 

“Wright was arrested and booked into the King County Jail for Violation of the Uniform Substance Act, Theft 1, and Tampering with Evidence. In August, he posted bail and was released.”

Toward the end of August, Shoreline officers started seeing Wright in Shoreline, in areas known for drugs, at times when dealers and users were active. He was picked up a couple of times by new patrol officers for equipment violations – things like tail lights and turn signals. Once again, he was in the areas and times for drug activity.

It was very suspicious behavior. But how do you investigate someone who knows police procedure, and knows almost every member of your department? A drug case would normally involve the Seattle DEA office. Once again, Wright had been a task officer for the DEA. He knew the procedures and he knew all the undercover cops working Aurora.

Shoreline Police Captain Scott Strathy went to the DEA office in Portland to discuss the problem. Eventually, DEA sent undercover officers from their Pierce County office.

Seattle police were involved, as the drug and prostitution area extends into north Seattle. Edmonds police were involved, at one point allowing Shoreline to continue a surveillance of a drug deal in their territory, without taking action.

“All the departments worked together,” said Ledford – three DEA offices, Shoreline police, Bothell police, Edmonds police, Seattle police, and the King County Sheriff’s office.

“What about the Shoreline officers who had worked with Wright,” I asked, “who had been his partners? That must have been odd for them, to be investigating one of their own.”

Ledford said, “There was never any wavering of allegiance. They all did their jobs.”

On Monday, February 10, 2014, Wright was arrested for conspiracy and narcotics distribution. The investigation continues. A trial date has not been set.