Shoreline deputy arrested after Mill Creek accident
Saturday, March 1, 2014
A King County Sheriff’s deputy was arrested Friday morning after he rear ended a car in Mill Creek early in his shift.
The accident occurred just before 7am near NE 132nd St and Bothell/Everett Hwy. Mill Creek officers responded and noticed that the deputy showed signs of impairment.
A Washington State Patrol drug recognition expert was requested after alcohol was ruled not a likely factor. WSP obtained a search warrant and had blood drawn from the deputy. The deputy was processed and released pending results of the blood test.
The other driver suffered very minor injuries but was taken to a hospital for observation as a precaution.
The deputy, age 47, is a 19 year veteran currently assigned to the City of Shoreline.
Mill Creek Police will conduct the criminal investigation.
The King County Sheriff’s Office will conduct a separate internal investigation into the matter.
“We will wait for the blood results to determine the cause of the impairment and then complete the internal investigation,” said Sheriff John Urquhart.
The deputy has been placed on administrative leave which is standard while the investigation is ongoing.
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10 comments:
Another Shoreline Police Officer arrested, and why do we contract with KCSO?
Ooh, someone accused me of trolling because I asked about factual information missing in these stories. Here is another missing piece of information, Mill Creek Police were chasing this errant KCSO-Shoreline Police Officer: http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20140228/NEWS01/140229134/King-County-deputy-arrested-after-on-duty-crash-in-Mill-Creek-
"Police-radio traffic captured several 911 calls about the deputy, who was initially reported as being seen slumped over in his Shoreline police car near 176th Street SW and Highway 99 in the Lynnwood area. He was followed or chased by local police into Mill Creek."
Well, we know this officer wasn't refueling his vehicle in Lynnwood since the City of Shoreline just spent tens of millions of dollars purchasing the Bruggers Bog storage yard and the KCSO-Shoreline Police now get their fuel there, so why was this officer up in Lynnwood and impaired during his shift?
What is a Shoreline/King Co deputy doing in Lynnwood during his shift?
Based on the track record of KC officers farmed out to Shoreline and Kenmore, there is evidence to support the theory that KC assigns underperforming officers to the contract cities.
That whole business a few years ago where the Shoreline (KC) cop crashed into a teen girl's car and then tried to cover up the officer's culpability in the matter, trying to blame the teen in fact, is reason enough to not understand why Shoreline is not pursuing getting their own PD. And the Kenmore (KC) cop whose roommate gunned down that store clerk...it's just beyond the pale what those chuckleheads are getting away with.
For at least ten years there has been problems with KCSO and officers serving in Shoreline and at least two of our Shoreline Police Chiefs - Sue Rahr and Denise Turner. See the Seattle PI series "Conduct Unbecoming" that details the misconduct of at least 2 officers assigned to Shoreline by KCSO while under the supervision of Turner and Rahr. When the misconduct was reported in the investigative series by the Seattle PI what did Sheriff Rahr do? You might imagine that the logical and ethical thing to do (and our current Sheriff was serving right by her side at the time) was to file a complaint with the Washington State News Council!
And did our august Shoreline City Council try to address any of the problems -- of course not. They just renew the contract with KCSO at the price named by King County and seek the endorsement of the KCSO union at election time.
The stench is stifling.
Facts folks, facts.
First: The CITY of Shoreline directs their PATROL CARS to fuel in LYNNWOOD. Hence, Shoreline PD/KCSO cars in Lynnwood with regularity. It must have blown some minds here to find out that, gasp!, the city of Shoreline contracted with Sno County Jail to house arrests there until that contract was recently cancelled. That alone saved the city tens of thousands of dollars a year. So, you had (drum roll please) Shoreline PD/KCSO cars traveling often through Sno County on I-5 and stopping for fuel in . . . Lynnwood. Brugger's Bog hasn't even been occupied yet because it has not yet been upgraded (as identified by the city as part of their acquisition costs - even mentioned on this very blog). Not hard to drive by the location and see it is still empty. Doubt the gas in those tanks is fresh, if any is left. Heck, even LFP contracts with Northshore Utility to buy gas from them so you see LFP cars in Kenmore frequently. The local jail is in Lynnwood so you have, you guessed it, MLT, Edmonds, Brier cars going through that city.
Second, what are the savings folks in Shoreline see in contracting versus standing up their own PD? Maybe the smart folks here should explore the challenges that Federal Way or even Lakewood (Pierce County) went through in making their own departments. Fed Way had over $4MIL in lawsuits within the first two years they stood up. Lakewood has certainly had it's own share of issues. Then again, the Shoreline folks could tax themselves a levy to pay for their own department (and insurance, and cars, and fuel, and wages, and command staff, and support staff, and benefits, and equipment, and so on). The reality is that having one's one department does cost more than contracting in most cases. Cities weigh costs and values. Places like Shoreline and Kenmore decide to save money by contracting. Places like Lake Forest Park and Edmonds have their own and pay more. Their citizens seem to want that and pay more for it. In talking to those citizens, they seem pretty satisfied with what they have, for the most part (don't speed in LFP I hear on occasion). But yes, it is their "own" rather than contracting so they answer to their councils.
Shoreline folks should look inward to see why they did not demand changes within their department or program if they felt the deputies who bid for the contact cities did not meet their standards (never mind that KCSO is internationally accredited while LFP is State and Edmonds in nationally accredited, as a comparison). Deputies don't just get assigned there, they ask to go to the contract cities. Deputies I have chatted with say it's considered a good choice.
Facts folks, facts. Not hard to look them up or even call city hall to ask the right folks "why?" You may find that city hall will even tell you when you ask, or even the "chief" of your fair department.
This dialogue is hilarious. You're arguing about where an inebriated officer of the law gets gassed, when you should be asking why. How about commenting on the story?
"KCSO is internationally accredited while LFP is State and Edmonds in nationally accredited, as a comparison...."
That's funny. Were the crimes perpetuated by the KC officers as described in the "Conduct Unbecoming" series carried out in accordance with "international" subterfuge and disdain for the rights of the public? Heh.
"Deputies don't just get assigned there, they ask to go to the contract cities. Deputies I have chatted with say it's considered a good choice."
Naturally if one does not fit in or is drawing heat from the overhead due to poor performance, working somewhere else with less oversight would seem to be a very attractive option indeed. Considered a good choice? No doubt! Less chance of another officer noticing you're on drugs just before your morning shift starts, yes?
Sue Rahr's actions at the time were despicable, she didn't have the guts to take charge of her department. Instead she chose to be an apologist, and a not very good one at that.
The reason you shouldn't speed in LFP is because when residents ask for enhanced speed patrol, they get it. Try to get that in Kenmore or Shoreline.
Hey @7:01 pm - you should catch up on the FACTS. When Shoreline bought the Bruggers Bog storage yard, they agreed as part of sales contract to have KCSO fuel their vehicles there. The City of Shoreline has announced on their website they already started up the fuelling operation and I have a photo of a KCSO vehicle actually getting fuel there. Want to try AGAIN about your so-called FACTS?
As for your red-herring about lawsuits, Shoreline is part of the AWC insurance pool, they would be covered for any lawsuits filed against it through the pool. Furthermore, exactly how many lawsuits have been filed against Shoreline? Risk is calculated based on EXPERIENCE - how many cases have been filed. If you actually paid attention, Shoreline pays millions of dollars more per year compared to Edmonds, MLT, and LFP (who have their own police departments), not more. You have to go to Lakewood and Federal Way (with completely different demographics and crime rates) to make your point? That's pathetic, even the City staff don't use those jurisdictions to make their comparisons, when they used comparisons they used the cities I used.
Citizens should demand choices? What a joke, the Council has shutdown public comment; did you know that the Council held a dinner meeting recently to discuss police enforcement rather than hold it in open session? Didn't think so, you should keep up better. Another issue with Council - tonight there is one agenda item but the Council held a special meeting to discuss the ten-year financial (in)stability plan, but I'm sure you haven't been paying attention to THAT either. What did the old Council do with long-range financial planning - they had a citizens committee, but not this Council.
It would be nice it you actually stuck to the topic and had your so-called facts in order.
Here is another one for you -- former King County Councilmember tried to rein in the out of control KCSO in Shoreline and Kenmore and they pushed him off and intimidated him, so you think a few Shoreline citizens are going to get anywhere? Too bad you are so fact-challenged and uninformed.
Here is another fact you may be unaware of: during the property tax levy lift, the Shoreline city staff told the Briarcrest neighborhood that if the levy lift didn't pass their police response might decrease and people in the room just laughed because they already have a dreadful police response.
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