SEATTLE, Wash. — A day after placing a Seattle police officer on desk duty over controversial actions, the Police Department began reviewing a new allegation that the officer previously took marijuana from evidence for her personal use.
The allegation surfaced Friday in The Stranger newspaper, which quoted a woman identifying herself as the ex-girlfriend of Officer Cynthia Whitlatch as saying the two smoked the marijuana at home after it was taken in the spring of 2005.
Whitlatch, the subject of disclosures this week that she arrested a black man using a golf club as a cane and made racially charged comments on Facebook, also has previously made racist remarks, the woman alleged.
The woman, Corinne Purucker, 53, a former Tukwila police officer who resigned over a criminal conviction and now lives out of state, confirmed her allegations Friday in a phone interview with The Seattle Times.
Whitlatch, speaking Friday through Ron Smith, president of the Seattle Police Officers’ Guild, denied Purucker’s allegations.
Seattle Police Chief Kathleen O’Toole said Friday that the allegations have been referred to the department’s Office of Professional Accountability (OPA) to determine if administrative or criminal action is warranted.
Under state law, there is no statute of limitation barring criminal prosecution of a felony committed by a public officer, “if the commission is in connection with the duties of his or her office or constitutes a breach of his or her public duty or a violation of the oath of office.”
But it is unclear if a felony would apply. In the case of a misdemeanor, a statute of limitation almost certainly would come into play.
O’Toole said that as events have unfolded this week she has been in regular discussions with the OPA and law-enforcement partners, including the U.S. Justice Department in light of the 2012 federal consent decree requiring the city to curb excessive force and biased policing.
“We will leave no stone unturned in these reviews,” she said.
The Police Department, she said, should be judged on how it handles the allegations under new procedures crafted as part of the federal mandate.
O’Toole removed Whitlatch from street duties Thursday after the revelations that Whitlatch, who is white, had arrested a 70-year-old black man on July 9 for carrying the golf club and then, within two months, posted the racial comments on Facebook.
On a Facebook post last summer attributed to Whitlatch, the officer was critical of “black peoples (sic) paranoia” in assuming whites are “out to get them, ” and cited the Ferguson, Mo., riots that followed the fatal shooting of a young African-American man by a white officer Aug. 9.
O’Toole earlier said she learned only Wednesday of the post and became concerned that it closely followed the golf-club matter. In that case, a charge of unlawful use of a weapon was ultimately dismissed.
Amid public outcry, O’Toole opened broad reviews of Whitlatch’s work history and the department’s overall handling of the matters.
In addition, the OPA has opened a separate internal investigation of the golf-club matter that could lead to discipline against Whitlatch. It previously determined the Facebook post occurred off-duty.
Anne Levinson, the OPA’s auditor, said Friday she has previously recommended that the department develop an off-duty social-media policy that balances the right of free speech against commenting that diminishes public trust in the department or officers.
Purucker, in the interview with The Times, said she would cooperate if contacted by investigators.
She alleged that during their relationship between 2004 and 2006, Whitlatch repeatedly made racist comments, including occasional use of the n-word.
Of the marijuana, Purucker said, it was a small amount.
“I could have sworn she said evidence,” Purucker said, referring to where the marijuana was obtained. “I can’t prove anything. I just know those were her words.”
Purucker acknowledged her own checkered history, confirming she resigned from the Tukwila Police Department in 2004 after she was indicted and convicted in a bankruptcy-fraud case in Colorado federal court. The fraud occurred while she was a police officer in Breckenridge, Colo.
According to the indictment, Purucker used her roommate to hide ownership of a $32,700 Jeep Grand Cherokee from a bankruptcy court.
Purucker said Friday that her conviction stemmed from stupid behavior, but that “doesn’t mean I’m a liar.” She said she came forward now after learning of the Facebook post and golf-club case.
Smith, the guild president, said Purucker’s conviction, which he labeled a crime of “moral turpitude,” should raise doubts.
“I don’t how much credibility this woman is going to have,” he said, while acknowledging the department has no choice but to fully investigate the allegations.
http://www.yakimaherald.com/news/la...tle-cop-accused-of-stealing-pot-from-evidence
The allegation surfaced Friday in The Stranger newspaper, which quoted a woman identifying herself as the ex-girlfriend of Officer Cynthia Whitlatch as saying the two smoked the marijuana at home after it was taken in the spring of 2005.
Whitlatch, the subject of disclosures this week that she arrested a black man using a golf club as a cane and made racially charged comments on Facebook, also has previously made racist remarks, the woman alleged.
The woman, Corinne Purucker, 53, a former Tukwila police officer who resigned over a criminal conviction and now lives out of state, confirmed her allegations Friday in a phone interview with The Seattle Times.
Whitlatch, speaking Friday through Ron Smith, president of the Seattle Police Officers’ Guild, denied Purucker’s allegations.
Seattle Police Chief Kathleen O’Toole said Friday that the allegations have been referred to the department’s Office of Professional Accountability (OPA) to determine if administrative or criminal action is warranted.
Under state law, there is no statute of limitation barring criminal prosecution of a felony committed by a public officer, “if the commission is in connection with the duties of his or her office or constitutes a breach of his or her public duty or a violation of the oath of office.”
But it is unclear if a felony would apply. In the case of a misdemeanor, a statute of limitation almost certainly would come into play.
O’Toole said that as events have unfolded this week she has been in regular discussions with the OPA and law-enforcement partners, including the U.S. Justice Department in light of the 2012 federal consent decree requiring the city to curb excessive force and biased policing.
“We will leave no stone unturned in these reviews,” she said.
The Police Department, she said, should be judged on how it handles the allegations under new procedures crafted as part of the federal mandate.
O’Toole removed Whitlatch from street duties Thursday after the revelations that Whitlatch, who is white, had arrested a 70-year-old black man on July 9 for carrying the golf club and then, within two months, posted the racial comments on Facebook.
On a Facebook post last summer attributed to Whitlatch, the officer was critical of “black peoples (sic) paranoia” in assuming whites are “out to get them, ” and cited the Ferguson, Mo., riots that followed the fatal shooting of a young African-American man by a white officer Aug. 9.
O’Toole earlier said she learned only Wednesday of the post and became concerned that it closely followed the golf-club matter. In that case, a charge of unlawful use of a weapon was ultimately dismissed.
Amid public outcry, O’Toole opened broad reviews of Whitlatch’s work history and the department’s overall handling of the matters.
In addition, the OPA has opened a separate internal investigation of the golf-club matter that could lead to discipline against Whitlatch. It previously determined the Facebook post occurred off-duty.
Anne Levinson, the OPA’s auditor, said Friday she has previously recommended that the department develop an off-duty social-media policy that balances the right of free speech against commenting that diminishes public trust in the department or officers.
Purucker, in the interview with The Times, said she would cooperate if contacted by investigators.
She alleged that during their relationship between 2004 and 2006, Whitlatch repeatedly made racist comments, including occasional use of the n-word.
Of the marijuana, Purucker said, it was a small amount.
“I could have sworn she said evidence,” Purucker said, referring to where the marijuana was obtained. “I can’t prove anything. I just know those were her words.”
Purucker acknowledged her own checkered history, confirming she resigned from the Tukwila Police Department in 2004 after she was indicted and convicted in a bankruptcy-fraud case in Colorado federal court. The fraud occurred while she was a police officer in Breckenridge, Colo.
According to the indictment, Purucker used her roommate to hide ownership of a $32,700 Jeep Grand Cherokee from a bankruptcy court.
Purucker said Friday that her conviction stemmed from stupid behavior, but that “doesn’t mean I’m a liar.” She said she came forward now after learning of the Facebook post and golf-club case.
Smith, the guild president, said Purucker’s conviction, which he labeled a crime of “moral turpitude,” should raise doubts.
“I don’t how much credibility this woman is going to have,” he said, while acknowledging the department has no choice but to fully investigate the allegations.
http://www.yakimaherald.com/news/la...tle-cop-accused-of-stealing-pot-from-evidence
They can buy it at the store like everyone else.
