Bothell King County DUI Attorney: Seattle DUI Squad Under Investigation

Bothell King County DUI Attorney: Seattle DUI Squad Under Investigation

From the Seattle PI

All but one member of the Seattle police DUI squad has been administratively reassigned and are being investigated by the department.

Beginning March 8, the DUI squad sergeant was investigated after Capt. Dick Belshay reviewed what the department called supervisory inconsistencies from the squad.

The investigation was broadened into the conduct of three other officers in the DUI squad and they were administratively reassigned Wednesday.

The squad had four members and one sergeant. Only one member of the squad, Officer Eric Michl, has not been reassigned.

Department policy required all arrests be screened in person with the sergeant. But Kimberly Mills, spokeswoman for City Attorney Pete Holmes, said the sergeant was screening the arrests out of the office.

The practice went on for many months, and dozens of cases are affected, she said.

Craig Sims, head of the City Attorney's Criminal Division, has been briefed of the internal investigation. Mills said there are issues with officer integrity, not evidence problems.

Seattle police did not say specifically if the any of those reassigned could be investigated for false swearing; state law makes it a gross misdemeanor for a person to make a false statement under a lawful oath. False swearing cases are rare in Washington.

The primary function of the DUI squad is to detect, arrest, process and assist in the prosecution of alcohol and other drug-impaired drivers, according to the department.

Two members of the DUI squad, including Michl, are certified drug recognition experts, meaning they can evaluate and arrest drivers impaired by drugs.

Annually, the DUI officers arrest and process more than 1,000 drivers, according to department statistics.

Click here to read more about the Seattle Police DUI Squad.

For more click here:  http://www.seattlepi.com/local/437444_dui21.html

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