KING 5 News has learned of more turmoil in the Bellevue Police Department involving allegations of misconduct unrelated to the discipline of two officers for their unruly and obnoxious behavior at a Seahawks game in September.
At the request of the Bellevue Police Chief, the Washington State Patrol recently investigated allegations of misconduct involving six commanders ranging from lieutenant to deputy chief. Sources inside the department told KING 5 the investigation involved relationships between two male commanders and a female captain that resulted in threats and a physical altercation.
Bellevue Police Chief Linda Pillo officially asked the Washington State Patrol to step in three months ago, according to documents obtained by the KING 5 Investigators through a public records request. In November, the Washington State Patrol sent Chief Pillo a letter indicating it had completed administrative investigations regarding four employees of your department.
The investigations concentrated on allegations of employee misconduct by a deputy chief, a captain and two lieutenants. The letter by Captain Michael Dahl, Office of Professional Standards for Washington State Patrol, also states that two additional completed investigations were delivered to the chief in October focusing on a major and a captain.
The Bellevue Police Department has denied repeated requests by KING 5 for access to the Washington State Patrol reports. Internal Investigations are not complete until the final disciplinary decision has been made. Until then, it is still an open investigation, said Kyle Aiken, Legal Advisor to the Bellevue Police Department.
Public Information Officer Marcia Harnden told KING 5 that she is aware of the WSP investigations, which are now in the hands of the police chief, but the probe is ongoing and nothing will be released until disciplinary notices have been given to the employees if the allegations are sustained.
Police sources saidthe investigation has created more uncertainty and turmoil inside the Bellevue Police Department. On Tuesday, in the case related to misconduct at the Seahawks game, Officer Andrew Hanke was suspended for 160 hours and removed from the bomb squad for swearing at an off-duty Seattle Police officer outside CenturyLink Field and for obnoxious behavior that caused security to evict him from the stadium. Corporal Dion Robertson was demoted to officer and removed from a leadership role in the bomb squad for the same offenses.
