Crime & Safety
Lakewood Police Officer Resigns, Lied About a Crash Involving a Shotgun
A 34-year-old cop said he was chasing a speeding vehicle when a person pointed a gun at him, causing the accident off Perimeter Road. An investigation into the matter has proven otherwise.
An outside investigation proved that a Lakewood police officer lied about crashing his patrol car on March 8, prompting him to resign earlier this month, according to The Tacoma News Tribune.
The 34-year-old officer is not being named, because he has not been charged with a crime. He allegedly was chasing a speeding motorist just before midnight and the person inside aimed a shotgun at him, causing the crash off Perimeter Road.
(Click for the initial report).
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But after an investigation by the Washington State Patrol and the department's own internal investigation, the details of the statements did not match the accident. Lakewood Police Chief Bret Farrar requested that the WSP look into it.
"They determined there was no way it could have happened how he said it happened," Farrar said in a TNT news report.
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The officer's resignation took effect on July 8. He had been with the Police Department for six years, since it became operational. He worked for the Pierce County Sheriff's Department before that.
The Tribune reported that Farrar and Assistant Police Chief Mike Zaro said they didn't know why the officer's patrol car went off the road or why he didn't tell the truth about what happened.
He will not face a criminal investigation and is not ordered to make a statement about what happened, the TNT said.
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