Lying Cop Gets Job Back (WITH BACK PAY)

Having been a Washington criminal defense attorney for seven years, I know that not all police officers are always honest about everything in police reports. That being said – I want to be clear here – MOST cops are good people out there trying hard to do a good job. We all play a roll in the system, and I appreciate law enforcement officers as much as the next citizen.

However – we want our officers to be honest, reliable, trustworthy, and able to show restraint – especially as it relates to injuring suspects.

At least that’s what I thought. Meet Officer Eric Werner.

From The Seattle Times:

A Seattle police officer fired for dishonesty will get his job back, along with back pay, after the city’s Public Civil Service Commission ruled that termination was too harsh.

Officer Eric Werner, 31, instead faces a 30-day suspension, which he has already served since being fired in May.

Werner maintained he forgot about punching an agitated man when he was initially questioned in 2007 by Seattle police during an investigation into the man’s complaint that he was repeatedly tazed.

Werner, during testimony last year before the commission, said he later remembered striking the man and decided to come clean while applying for a job with the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office in May 2008. The hiring process included polygraph examinations.

The Sheriff’s Office didn’t hire Werner. But they notified the Seattle Police Department of his disclosure and, after an internal investigation, he was fired last May by Interim Police Chief John Diaz for violating the department’s honesty policy.

Werner appealed his firing in what was viewed as a key test of the honesty policy, which presumes officers will be fired for dishonesty in their official duties and was a cornerstone of new rules adopted in 2008 to address community concerns about police accountability.

Though the city and the Police Department could appeal the commission’s ruling in King County Superior Court, such a move is extremely rare.

“The City Attorney’s Office is analyzing the decision, and considering whether to appeal. No decision has been made yet,” a spokeswoman for City Attorney Peter Holmes wrote in an e-mail today.

However, Werner’s name has now been added to the so-called “Brady list,” a list kept by the King County Prosecutor’s Office of potential witnesses whose honesty has been called into question, said spokesman Dan Donohoe. Most of the 52 names on the list are law-enforcement officers, though the list also includes State Patrol crime-lab employees and a former death investigator with the King County Medical Examiner’s Office, he said.

The Prosecutor’s Office will be required to notify defense attorneys whenever Werner is called to testify against a criminal defendant, Donohoe said.

Okay – I’m not sure what we as citizens should be more outraged at. This guy “forgot” that he PUNCHED a subject who was being interviewed for complaining that he was TAZED too many times. Except that he didn’t “forget”. If he had, then he wouldn’t have “come clean”. Let’s face it folks – he lied. So now we have a lying cop back on the force. And not only did we let him back on – we PAID him for the “VACATION” he got by lying.

But wait – the outrage continues. There’s a 52 name LIST of lying cops and witnesses. And that’s JUST King County.

If you’ve found yourself on the wrong end of a dishonest cop, you need a criminal defense lawyer who’s unafraid to take on the police directly. Lynnwood Criminal Defense Lawyer Jonathan Dichter has been fighting to keep cops honest and protect your rights for seven years, and is happy to offer you a FREE CONSULTATION. Call him now at 425-424-9401.

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