Audit faults King County Sheriff's Office over complaints about deputies
'It's public safety at risk,' county council member says
An audit of the King County Sheriff’s Office has found that
civilian and internal complaints of officers weren't handled properly and that
field supervisors were not acting on complaints or passing them on to the
internal investigation unit, which ultimately was unable to do its job.
Kudos to WA State! It's about time guys... Yeepee- cuz this is just the beginning... I can feel it! I knew sooner or later, the "Good Ones" would finally say- "NO MORE" something is seriously wrong in our state and it's time we FIXED IT~ thank you, all of you, for stepping up to the plate and taking charge of what is a very obvious issue in our state and has been for many years. Just a bit more time and I'm sure THIS will become the issue that is finally realized as a PROBLEM! and that our WA State Women/Girls/Minor Children are suffering one after the other, as WA State turns a blind eye on the problem... Not anymore! This is wonderful progress... I do love my state!
THIS IS WHAT I FEEL
NEEDS TO BE DONE IN WAS STATE NOW! AND I HAVE MADE THIS VERY CLEAR TO WA
STATE~ANY WA State Police Officer caught having sex on duty- sex w/a minor-Lies
and Abuses, commits crimes to have sex on duty.. NO SECOND CHANCES! Gone!
Period! End of subject GONE! Turn in your badge, turn in your weapon- GONE! In
writing in EVERY WA State Police Department Policies and Procedures Manual. One
gets fired the next doesn't. One resigned, the next doesn't-One gets
"punished" the next doesn't.NO EXCEPTIONS!This must be done- should
have been done 30 years ago, but better late than NEVER!
An audit of the King County Sheriff’s Office has found that civilian and internal complaints of officers weren't handled properly and that field supervisors were not acting on complaints or passing them on to the internal investigation unit, which ultimately was unable to do its job.
“It’s public safety at risk,” King County Councilwoman Julia Patterson said at the council hearing, where the report was presented. “If our public doesn’t trust that they will be treated fairly, that they can feel safe alone with a police officer in King County, then they will not rely on the police.”
Patterson said that what stuck out to her in the report was the use-of-force reviews in 2011. Most large cities had well over 100, she said. Chicago had more than 1,000. But King County had only two.
“It would lead the average person to conclude that there are things that are not being reported that should be,” Patterson said.
The auditor, Robert Davis, said it was all about “accountability; you have to be able to hold your supervisors accountable for the role they play as supervisors.”
In one case, the sheriff’s internal investigations unit never investigated deputy Matt Paul after he slammed a man into a wall, causing brain and spinal damage and costing the county $10 million in damages.
Sheriff Steve Strachan, who has been the sheriff for three months, said if that incident happened today, the deputy would be investigated.
Strachan pledged to implement every recommendation from the auditors and make sure any problems, inside or outside the sheriff's office, are reported.
“We've been working on this for some time,” Strachan said. “This provides us a great blueprint to move forward and to build even more momentum to make those changes.”
