The Kitsap Sun has posted an article about the allegations of police misconduct against Officer Steve Cain by Kim Koenig. The article is based on a review of Puyallup Police Department records of its investigation of the criminal complaint Koenig lodged against Cain following a traffic stop last September. The City of Puyallup recently released those records to the Sun. Read the Sun article here.
Yesterday’s ruling by Kitsap Superior Court Judge Russell Hartman, blocking the release of the Puyallup records, as well as records in a separate investigation done by the Mercer Island Police Department, applied only the the City of Bainbridge Island. Puyallup was not a party to the proceedings so it was not bound by the ruling.
The Mercer Island Police Department conducted an investigation about whether Cain had violated any policies of the Bainbridge Police Department. Those records have not been released.
As a result of the incident, Koenig has filed a claim for damages against the City of Bainbridge.
To read my take on the Puyallup investigation, go here.
There are many serious questions raised here. No matter what you may think of BIPD and its officers (pro or con) everyone should want to know the truth. The Mayor should immediately call for a thorough investigation into all aspects surrounding this incident. That investigation should be done by a large agency (e.g. FBI, Seattle PD, Tacoma PD) with investigators who have experience with internal police investigations. Results of that investigation should be made public. The Police Department and the Police Guild should embrace such an open investigation. Without it, questions will continue to be raised about the integrity of Officer Cain, his supervisors, BIPD and the City of Bainbridge Island.
After reading the case summaries from Althea and the Sun it appears as if Officer Cain’s personnel file was either deliberately withheld or destroyed to prevent it from being used in the criminal investigation against him. Here is why:
On September 30, 2007 Koenig filed a criminal complaint against Officer Cain with BIPD. BIPD then asked Puyallup PD to conduct the criminal investigation. Sometime prior to February 4, 2008 the Kitsap Prosecutor declined to file criminal charges against Officer Cain. Therefore, it is likely that Puyallup finished its investigation and submitted it to the prosecutor at least a month prior to February 4 (the exact dates should be in the Puyallup report). Puyallup investigators said they looked at Officer Cain’s personnel file and “found only positive information.” However, we know that Officer Cain had a prior sustained complaint for having sex with a suspect and another complaint for “inaccurate reporting” for which he was exonerated. Records of these complaints were in Officer Cain’s personnel file and neither of those complaints could be characterized as “positive.” According to the BI City Attorney, documents related to these complaints were destroyed on January 4, 2008.
Two problems here:
First, at the time BIPD destroyed the relevant records in Officer Cain’s personnel file they knew he was under criminal investigation (very serious for a police officer) for actions he allegedly committed while on duty. Officer Cain was also being investigated to determine whether he violated departmental policy. To destroy relevant records from Officer Cain’s personnel file while he was under investigation was at the very least grossly negligent. If it was done with the intent to obstruct the investigation then the destruction of records was a crime in itself.
Second, the Puyallup criminal investigation began in October 2007. It is almost certain that they would have looked at Officer Cain’s personnel file prior to January 4, 2008 (the date the City Attorney said his disciplinary records had been destroyed). If this is true then either BIPD has an incredibly bad personnel records system or someone intentionally withheld the information from Puyallup investigators.
BIPD only has a couple of dozen officers. Are we to believe that the personnel files for these officers are kept in cardboard boxes in the cellar?
Who destroyed the documents from officer Cain’s personnel file? Were they acting on orders from a superior or were they just passing time by shredding documents?
There are so many more questions that need to be answered:
The Puyallup incident report was 117 pages long and yet they failed to interview the only civilian witness. Why? Did he refuse to cooperate or did they choose not to interview him? The officer only cited him for speeding not DUI so he must not have been drunk at the time and would probably be a very good witness.
The Prosecutor declined to file obstructing charges against Koenig. Why? Officer Cain filed the incident report. Did the prosecutor not find his version of the events to be credible? Did they have some issue with his report? This answer to this is very important given the prior complaint against Officer Cain for “inaccurate reporting.”
According to Althea’s research, Officer Cain was accused of rape in 1991 but the victim then decided not to cooperate with the prosecution (not uncommon among rape victims). However, BIPD did find that Officer Cain had sex with the woman who apparently was a suspect in a criminal case. Officer Cain received a short suspension for his actions. If this kind of misconduct is not grounds for dismissal from BIPD, what is?
It sounds like BIPD does not have a written policy on records retention. Absent a written policy no records should ever be destroyed. Does BIPD have such a policy? Is that policy followed? If there is no policy, who decides when records are to be destroyed?
And the questions go on and on….
We all hope that the officers who are sworn to protect us will abide by the law themselves. We want our police officers to be of the highest integrity. I really hope that BIPD does not have any officers who would break the law or who would cover up for those that do. However, the limited information that the public has about this case suggests that we have some potentially serious problems in our police department.
The Mayor and Police Chief must act now to restore trust and confidence in our police force. If there are no problems, no one should fear a thorough investigation. If our city officials are unwilling to act, it will be up to concerned citizens to contact the FBI and ask for an investigation.
Althea, I appreciate your willingness to stick your neck out for all the rest of us. It is very hard to question or challenge the police because we need them to protect us. They are the authority that should provide us with law and order. I hope that you will not let go of this one until we find the truth.
Now that we heard from plaintiff’s counsul (or plaintiff), let’s hear the other side. Juries tend to believe whatever is unfolded in front of them until the other side is presented.
JMO: I assume you’re kidding, but for the record, the City of Bainbridge, Tristan Baurick and I were the defendants and Cain and the Police Guild were the plaintiffs. The City was represented by Paul McMurray and Tristan and I were represented by Dan Mallove (my husband). I know neither Dan nor I wrote that comment, and I’m pretty sure Paul and Tristan didn’t either.
AP — No, I speak of Koenig’s $400K lawsut — yes, she is the plaintiff. :) Yes, we have a web of cross suits but some issue align.
My finger slipped! I know we are a small town. By golly and by gosh I like living in a small town. The best part of living in a small town is that we can take care of our own business.
You can’t have things both ways. Once in while, a few of us get carried away and the whole picnic goes to tarnation in a hand basket.
Anonymous, if you think some New York City agency – or the FBI (who can’t find that Bin what’s his name), is going to sort out this mess, then I have a bucket of white wash and a fence that needs some painting.
Keep writing, I’m informed by you. But I’m not cleaning my musket because you yell for a call to arms.
My civil liberties were violated by Officer Cain. As a direct result of his actions and other officers I was assaulted and my life was put in danger. Officer Jensen also misused his position of authority and violated our rights repeatedly.
I do not need to see files or records to know first hand that the chronic lack of leadership (mayor) in our community and the misuse of authority at the Bainbridge Police Department is a relevant concern for every citizen.
No I am not Kim. We are another family living yet another horror story on Bainbridge as a result of abuse of authority not only at the police department, but at city hall, including inappropriate actions by the mayor and city attorney.
Nothing will change until we have new leadership. Even our local judicial system is tainted.
Dear Another (who goes by many posting nicknames here),
A wise person once translated : “She/He abused me, attacked me, defeated me, robbed me! For those who carry on like this, hatred never ends.”
Please end your victimhood. Leave off posting your hatred here over and over and over.
Ms. C is now the third reader who has commented on the posts of “Another” (the other two did it through email to me). Though I always appreciate reader comments, I too have grown weary of Another’s repeated complaint, which is sometimes expressed with alarming venom. I’m going to stop publishing them if they continue without any new thoughts or info. Thanks.
Dear Anomalous. Getting stuck inside your own thoughts, trying to say the same thing, in a way we can understand you; again and again and again; doesn’t mean we understand you better.
In fact, for the timid and shy ones like me, Ollie Anomalous, I am getting a bad rap for not using my own name when I want to protect myself from the sticks and stones that really do hurt as much as words. Your friend. Ollie.
At times this blog reads like a late night Art Bell “Coast-to-Coast” program rife with conspiracies and dark forces. We have plenty of incompetence and mean politics but really . . . .
Blaming victims…
It has been proposed that one cause of victim-blaming is the “Just World Hypothesis”. People who believe that the world has to be fair may find it hard or impossible to accept a situation in which a person is unfairly and badly hurt. This leads to a sense that, somehow, the victim must have surely done ’something’ to deserve their fate. Another theory entails the need to protect one’s own sense of invulnerability. This inspires people to believe that abuse only happens to those who deserve or provoke the assault (Schneider et al., 1994). This is a way of feeling safer. If the potential victim avoids the behaviors of the past victims then they themselves will remain safe and feel less vulnerable.
You can summarize this logic as follows : The status quo is never challenged, and the root causes of the problems never addressed. Telling someone to shut up or censuring them is one way to avoid “truth and consequences.”
Mr. Olsen – I have no involvement in this case either personally or professionally and I do not know any of the parties involved. I am less concerned about the facts of this case as I am about how the police department handled the matter including the destruction of personnel files. Most misconduct cases come down to the officer’s word versus the complainant’s word. When dealing with the use of force by police there are many gray areas. Officers may use force against those they are detaining so long as it is not excessive. But what is excessive force is a jury call. Unfortunately the public is not able to hear both sides in this case because Officer Cain invoked his right to remain silent and he did not assist in the criminal investigation.
Ms. Whoods – I’m not suggesting that we panic or take any drastic action here. But the facts of this case that are known to the public raise many serious questions that need to be resolved. Just because we are a small town does not mean we do not have serious problems just like the big cities. Drugs are sold in our schools. Child molesters live in our neighborhoods. Husbands beat their wives. If you stick your head in the sand and say, “It could never happen in our little town” it just exacerbates the problem.
I am suggesting that a large experienced agency be invited to come in and assess the situation and tell us if we have a problem with our police department or not. These larger agencies will have much more experience dealing with these kinds of problems and they will be able to be more objective than some small police agency that probably has personal ties with BIPD. I believe that the Washington State Patrol has a unit that assists cities with internal investigations. If we had responsible leaders in the City they would recognize that they need some help with this situation and they would not be afraid to ask for assistance.
In my family, in situations like this, we bring up Antonio… you know, some people say, “So whaddya think about those Sonics?”
Antonio was one of the oldest men in town, and he went over to San Roque one summer Saturday night to have a copa of sherry with the girls. As was the custom, he carried his whole life savings, in large bills, in his overalls’ bib pocket.
Antonio had one too many, and the girls got greedy. They rolled Antonio, and we all wondered what to do. If you called the Guardia Civil, then they telephoned the Generalissimo in Madrid, and he’d just have Antonio lined up against the wall.
I don’t mean lined up against the wall for a photograph, or to see how much he growed from last year. We liked Antonio and didn’t want to see him all full of holes in the morning. Everyone wondered where to find a little justice in our small town.
So, we left it to his wife, Antonia. She made him sleep in the barn for two years. He could come in the house for meals, and we had a cup of java and a slice of manteca one afternoon. But everyone knew he slept out in the barn, and when Antonia looked at Antonio, after 57 years of marriage, you knew justice was being served.
No one ever mentioned it again.