Bothell Kirkland King County DUI Drunk Driving Lawyer: Rubber-stamped DUIs Seattle Police sergeant retires

Bothell Kirkland King County DUI Drunk Driving Lawyer:  Rubber-stamped DUIs Seattle Police sergeant retires

Bothell Kirkland DUI / DWI / Drunk Driving Lawyers- Experienced, Successful, Affordable

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A Seattle police sergeant who built a stellar career before an internal investigation found misconduct in his supervision of drunken-driving arrests has retired after being told the department planned to fire him.

The department hasn't released the findings of its internal investigation of Abe, a veteran of nearly 33 years who supervised officers in the unit that enforces driving-under-the-influence (DUI) laws.

One high-level source said Abe had a good record during most of his career but displayed a "marked decline in performance" tied to health problems, a family illness and unhappiness over his assignment, for a second time, to the DUI Unit last year.

Last year, Abe earned $108,034 in regular pay and $49,691 in overtime, according to city payroll records.

Abe and three officers became the subjects of internal investigations in March after an audit found dozens of DUI cases had been mishandled.

In a June 22 report, the department found that two officers in the DUI Unit routinely used a signature stamp without having a sergeant approve their arrests as required by department policy.

The third officer, John Velliquette Jr., put written statements in his reports attesting that his arrests had been approved by a sergeant even though no review had occurred, the report said.

The three officers were cleared of misconduct allegations involving honesty and arrest procedures after the OPA heard testimony that the practice preapproving arrests had been going on for 20 to 25 years. Most area law-enforcement agencies do not require DUI arrest screening because suspects are generally released after processing, the OPA noted.

Although the allegations were not upheld, the three officers were ordered to undergo supervisory counseling and training for violating department policy.

Abe also "wasn't happy" when he was assigned to the DUI Unit in March 2010, Velliquette said, characterizing Abe's supervision as "not much."

Asked if Abe had screened arrests in person, Velliquette stated "not that I recall" and related that, in his opinion, supervision of the DUI officers had been lacking.

His statements were used by defense attorneys in another case, who sought dismissal of a DUI charge against their client or suppression of Velliquette's testimony.

A Seattle Municipal Court judge declined the requests Sept. 1 but said Velliquette could be cross-examined by the defense about his false statement that a sergeant had approved the arrest.

For information on your Washington State DUI / Drunk Driving, Snohomish County DUI, King County DUI, Skagit County DUI, Island County DUI or Whatcom County DUI  please contact our Washington State DUI drunk driving attorneys for a free consultation at 425-493-1115, email us at david@davidjollylaw.com, or check out our main website at http://www.washdui.com or www.mukilteodui.com, www.everett-dui.co, www.marysville-dui.com, www.dui-bothell.com, or www.anacortesdui.com.  We represent DUI clients in every court in Western Washington including Seattle DUI cases, Kirkland DUI cases, Redmond DUI cases, Shoreline DUI cases, Lynnwood DUI cases, Everett DUI cases, Mukilteo DUI cases, Marysville DUI cases, Mt. Vernon DUI cases, Anacortes DUI cases, and Bellingham DUI cases.

Author of The DUI Handbook for the Accused, DUI/DWI: The History of Driving Under the Influence, The DUI Investigation Handbook, The Traffic Ticket Handbook and The Drug DUI Handbook. 

Bothell Kirkland DUI / DWI / Drunk Driving Lawyers- Experienced, Successful, Affordable (425) 493-1115