Bellevue police officer resigns among DUI allegations

A Bellevue Police officer who was disciplined last year for inappropriate behavior at a Seahawks game has resigned from the force. Although the reason for the resignation can’t be known for sure, I assume its because the Officer had been under investigation for DUI stemming from a November traffic stop. The DUI stop was under some shady circumstances, most interesting was the fact the investigating officer just let the Bellevue police officer go and then reported it to a supervisor.

The incident has sparked an internal investigation as well as an outrage from the general public due to the actions of the officer who made the traffic stop and his decision to not make an arrest. The officer is still on-duty but part of an internal investigation.

As I have previously posted Im not sure how I feel about this. On one hand as a practicing DUI lawyer in Seattle I think it’s a little unfair that someone who was possibly impaired was just let go. I mean how many of my clients exhibited less signs of impairment than this guy yet they were still arrested and faced a year in jail just like everyone else. However on the other hand if the Officer did not exhibit hardly any signs of impairment and there was only evidence of consumption than regardless of whether the guy was a cop or not perhaps it was no big deal he was let go.

Unfortunately for this cop though it sounds like he may have some issues with alcohol. I was reading an article from KIRO news about this and I guess according to an internal investigation report regarding the Seahawks incident, the Officer admitted that he drove home while under the influence – even after a Seattle Police Sgt. told him and his friends to sober up and not drive. That probably wasn’t the best thing for him to admit as it will probably bite him in the ass.

Now the interesting thing will see what ever happens with this DUI charge. Will it be reduced? Will he fight it all the way and go to trial? Who knows but my guess is if he already resigned from his position he might just take a plea deal, get it over it, and move on with his life. But even as a DUI lawyer I have no idea what will happen. Make sure and stay tuned.

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About the author: Matthew Leyba is a DUI Lawyer in Seattle. He is rated as a 10/10 by Avvo.com as a DUI Lawyer in Seattle. He was also voted as a Rising Star among DUI lawyers by the Seattle Met Magazine, an honor less than 2.5% of all Attorneys receive.