Bellingham police officers used man with mental health issues for prank, records show
A group of Bellingham Police Department officers used a man with known severe mental health issues to play a prank on off-duty officers inside a restaurant last year, according to documents obtained by The Bellingham Herald.
An internal affairs investigation into the incident, which occurred Sept. 19, 2019, revealed there was no legitimate law enforcement purpose for contact with the victim, documents show. In fact, the victim did not request contact with an officer, and had called 911 looking for the number to a cab company.
Instead, officers drove him across town to an all-night restaurant in the back of a patrol vehicle and gave him $5 before sending him inside as a prank on the off-duty officers, the records show. Employees had to ask the victim to leave after he became disruptive, which prompted an unrelated customer to leave.
The four officers involved, including a shift sergeant who has been with the department for 26 years, received letters of reprimand in their personnel files from Bellingham Police Chief David Doll for violating the department’s code of conduct. Per policy, the letters will be destroyed after three years.
The victim has had 1,779 behavioral health contacts with law enforcement that generated a report between Jan. 1, 2019, through Aug. 4, 2020, according to Bellingham Police Department records. His actions and illness were also part of a series of court cases that led to the creation of Whatcom County’s mental health court in 2015, according to Darrin Hall, the victim’s former defense attorney.
Doll, the police chief, said when he heard about the incident, he “was immediately angered and deeply disappointed as this is not in any way indicative of our organizational culture nor does it reflect the hard work my personnel do every day to serve our community and, in particular, those who are vulnerable.”
“I immediately ordered an internal investigation be completed by the Office of Professional Responsibility to learn what happened in order to make the determination how to appropriately hold the personnel accountable for their actions. This was done, along with outreach to the individual involved, and restaurant where it occurred,” Doll said in a statement sent Monday, Aug. 10, to The Herald.
The officers who were disciplined are Sgt. Craig E. Johnson, Officer Nicolas D. Sturlaugson, Officer Chris L. Johnston and Crime Scene Investigation Officer Melissa A. Whipple. All are still with the department, according to records obtained by The Herald.
This incident was one of five internal affairs investigations related to complaints about the Bellingham Police Department in 2019, according to documents obtained by The Herald. It was one of 25 total complaints about the department last year.
Doll said Monday he thinks the discipline in this case was fair and that nothing like this has happened before within the department.
“The personnel involved understand their actions were inappropriate and harmful to our organizational mission and to the trust we so deeply need from our whole community,” Doll said. “The personnel involved had no prior disciplinary action on record, they received appropriate sanctions for the involvement in this incident in accordance with our disciplinary policy. The purpose of disciplinary action is to provide a consequence for unacceptable behavior, with the intent to correct that behavior going forward. I am confident this will not happen again.”
Doll said he apologizes to the community for the inappropriate actions of the officers involved in the incident.
“Our personnel respond daily, with care and compassion, to help those who suffer with behavioral health issues and that response occurs in a variety of ways from providing access to services, shelter, food and clothing. The personnel involved in this incident were held accountable and understand that actions such as this can erode the trust we need to maintain the support of the community and those we serve,” Doll said.
The Internal Affairs investigation found that the officers involved “generally did not adhere to the Officer’s Code of Conduct as outlined in the policy manual or the Mission, Vision and Core Values. Specifically, the Core Values of:
“Respect: Value the people we serve, our fellow employees and the importance of law.
“Compassion: Make decisions and take actions with empathy and consideration.”
“Our department has made great efforts to provide proper services to those who are in mental health crisis,” Doll’s reprimand letter to officers stated. “Your actions on Sept. 19 violate the core values of this department and the Law Enforcement Code of Ethics. They also undermine the public’s trust in our department.”
Bellingham Mayor Seth Fleetwood said in a statement sent to The Herald Wednesday, Aug. 12, that he learned about the incident for the first time on Monday, as the incident, investigation and disciplinary actions were completed before he became mayor.
Fleetwood said “this is another opportunity to reflect on our law enforcement culture, review our policies and procedures, and follow through on our commitments to examining and changing systems that are most impactful to people who are marginalized in our community. We need to ask why this happened, and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
Fleetwood said on Monday he learned Doll took immediate action after this incident happened, and that Doll made his outrage and disappointment over the incident clear. Fleetwood said he also learned that Bellingham police’s command staff took the situation very seriously.
“I am extremely disappointed this happened, to say the least. I am asking many questions. I want to understand why anyone would think this was OK,” Fleetwood said. “Moving forward, we’re going to learn and understand why and how this happened and ensure that nothing like this happens again.”
“This incident underscores our need and commitment to making progress as a community to focus attention on how we treat people, especially those who need our care the very most. My interest is in moving forward thoughtfully and continuing our work together to find improvements where they are needed,” Fleetwood added.
The plan
According to an Oct. 10, 2019, internal affairs investigation report, the What-Comm 911 dispatch center put out a broadcast on Sept. 19, 2019, shortly before 3 a.m. telling officers that the victim had just called 911 from the Whatcom Transportation Authority downtown bus station.
“He was not needing any help. Just looking for a number for Yellow Cab before disconnecting. Unsure if he is trespassed (banned) from there,” the dispatch call said. The victim was allowed to be at the bus station, records show.
At 3:01 a.m., on-duty Bellingham police officer Nicolas Sturlaugson, a then-four-year-employee of the department, put out a message to another officer via the mobile data terminal making fun of the victim’s last name and his tendency to use the phrase “Hell yeah,” the records show. A few minutes later, Sturlaugson saw several off-duty officers from the previous shift driving their personal vehicles northbound on Meridian Street.
Knowing that the officers often went to Shari’s Cafe and Pies restaurant together after their shift, Sturlaugson sent a message to other on-duty officers through the mobile data terminal stating that the off-duty officers were “headed to sharies. anyone got any good ideas.”
Officer Johnston, who had been with the department for eight years at the time, messaged the other on-duty officers, “lets drop off (the victim) and give him 5 bucks for a coffee.”
Sgt. Johnson, replied, “lol.”
Sturlaugson replied, “lololol lets do it.”
“I got a five for that!” Crime Scene Investigation Officer Whipple, a then-three-year employee of the department, replied.
The victim is well known to the Bellingham Police Department and at the time of the report had more than 30 documented law enforcement contacts in 2019 for incidents such as indecent exposure, disorderly conduct, property damage and trespassing. In addition, the victim also had 1,113 behavioral health-related contacts in 2019 that generated a report, department records state.
The victim has also been monitored by the department’s Behavioral Health Officer, Zackery Serad, and mental health liaison Laura Woods. Serad, who has worked with the victim for frequently using 911 due to mental health issues, has included updates on the victim, including his photo, in at least three email updates to officers before the incident.
During his interview with the internal affairs investigator on Oct. 8, Sturlaugson described the victim as “kind of a goof … he comes off as … can make people uncomfortable.” Sturlaugson also said he had given the victim multiple rides as a courtesy before and that officers regularly offer the victim cigarettes or rides somewhere to solve problems.
The setup
According to the internal affairs report, Officer Johnston located the victim at the WTA station downtown and drove him to Shari’s restaurant.
The victim was not handcuffed for the ride, but it is unclear whether Johnston searched the victim for weapons — Sgt. Johnson said a cursory search was done before the ride, while Johnston said he did not search or pat down the victim and that he did not have his body camera activated when he picked up the victim.
The victim “was contacted and transported with no legitimate law enforcement purpose,” the report states. “The only reason for the courtesy transport to Shari’s was to play a prank on the (off-duty) officers.”
Johnston told the internal affairs investigator he asked the victim if he wanted a ride to Shari’s and that the victim responded, “Hell yeah.”
Another on-duty officer that morning was sent to assist Johnston but Johnston had left with the victim before the other officer arrived.
Johnston reported via radio that he was giving the victim a courtesy transport to the area of Ross. He told the internal affairs investigator that he didn’t say he was heading to Shari’s to preserve the prank in case any of the officers at the restaurant had their radios on.
Johnston then met Sturlaugson and Whipple at Shari’s, and the officers gave the victim $5. Whipple told the internal affairs investigator she remembered that when the victim got the money he said, “Hell yeah,” and started walking toward Shari’s. Sturlaugson said he told the victim “Don’t cause any problems or anything like that.”
Whipple said after the victim walked into the restaurant, she drove away and parked across the street near Burger King. Johnston responded to a disorderly conduct call in the 100 block of East Maple Street and Sturlaugson drove to the nearby Rite Aid where he could see into the restaurant and see the reaction on the off-duty officers’ faces.
The prank
According to the internal affairs report, Officer Avery Lyons, who was part of the off-duty group, reported that he saw the victim come into the restaurant and begin to walk around before the victim sat at a table near the door with another man he knew and who is also known to have mental health issues.
Lyons said the victim got up several times during the 20 or 30 minutes he was in Shari’s and walked around yelling at himself.
The employees reportedly told the victim to sit down a couple of times or he would be asked to leave, and at one point the victim went behind the counter and attempted to enter the kitchen area, making the employees uncomfortable. Eventually, the victim was given his food to go and was asked to leave the restaurant.
An unrelated customer that was in the restaurant also left Shari’s because of the victim’s actions.
Lyons said he recorded a two-second video of the victim when he began to “ramp up.”
Sturlaugson said he watched for a few minutes and saw the off-duty officers laughing, smirking and acting like they couldn’t believe it was happening.
Sturlaugson also sent a message saying, “idk im leaving. dont want to get caught,” which he said was referencing getting caught by the officers at Shari’s.
Later, Whipple sent a message to Sturlaugson saying the incident “would’ve been fun with a hidden camera” to which Sturlaugson replied “all their faces said ‘are you fing kidding me,” in reference to the off-duty officers eating inside.
“All subject officers interviewed stated that the intent of dropping off (the victim) at Shari’s was to play a prank on the (off-duty) officers who were inside of Shari’s eating,” the internal affairs investigator wrote in the report. “They (the on-duty officers) stated they wanted to make it uncomfortable for (the off-duty officers) when (the victim) went inside. They are all familiar with the type of behavior he can display.”
The investigation
Chief Doll learned of the incident the same morning after the on-duty officers were overheard laughing and telling an officer from a different shift what they had done, according to the internal affairs report. Doll directed Lt. Chad Cristelli to conduct a fact-finding investigation to determine what happened.
Cristelli presented what he found to Doll a week later, and it was determined the four officers’ actions violated department policy and could result in discipline. Doll then asked Bellingham Police Lt. Jason Monson to conduct the internal affairs investigation on Sept. 24, 2019.
Sgt. Jay Hart, one of the officers who was eating at Shari’s, told Cristelli that he spoke to Sgt. Johnson the next day “and let him know how upset he was with what had transpired.” Hart told Johnson that the victim’s presence made the Shari’s staff uncomfortable to the point that they came over to the off-duty officers, apparently unaware they were officers, and apologized for the disturbance.
After speaking to Hart, Johnson said he went to Shari’s to apologize to the server and manager on behalf of the Bellingham Police Department.
Johnson “said the manager understood police dropping off people because it’s done all the time. ... He did not disclose the underlying reason why (the victim) was dropped off,” Monson, the internal affairs investigator, wrote. “He told the manager that officers felt it was a safe place to take (the victim) for the evening after (he) had called 911.”
In his summary of his interview of Johnson, Monson wrote “Sgt. Johnson told me that he felt that by having an officer take (the victim) to Shari’s it would ‘kill two birds with one stone’,” by playing a prank and keeping the victim from calling 911 the rest of the morning. Johnson did not go to Shari’s on the evening of the prank, but admitted to being fully aware of what was taking place.
The victim was not interviewed because after reviewing law enforcement reports involving him, Monson said he did “not feel (the victim) can provide a factual statement due to his mental health issues.”
Cristelli spoke to the victim a few days after the prank and reported the victim had “no recollection of it” when Cristelli mentioned the incident to him. Cristelli described the victim as “psychotic and unable to carry on a conversation” at the time, Monson’s report states.
In the month and a half before this incident, the victim had six behavioral health contacts with law enforcement that generated a report, Bellingham Police Department records show. In the two and a half months after this incident, the victim had 27 behavioral health contacts, including two on the same day after the incident took place.
Sgts. Johnson and Hart reported no animosity between the two shifts of officers.
“They also said that there has been no back-and-forth history of each crew playing jokes on one another,” Monson wrote. “This appears to be a unique, one-time event between the shifts.”
The aftermath
Though he wasn’t actually at Shari’s when the victim was dropped off, Johnson, the sergeant, took full responsibility for the actions of the on-duty officers, according to the internal affairs report. Johnson also said he discussed the prank with his officers the day afterward and the potential consequences of all of their actions.
Johnson said, “Make no mistake about it ... I knew that the underlying reason behind it was ultimately to follow through with what I perceived to be a prank,” according to the report. Johnson’s “comments about the transport as an opportunity to solve a problem for the evening were an afterthought/byproduct of the prank.”
Johnson also told Monson, the internal affairs investigator, that the incident wasn’t meant to be vindictive, but “more mischievous” and “thought it would be harmless.”
“At the time (Johnson) felt that (the victim) would behave himself, be grateful and eat his meal. He anticipated the worst thing that would come of it would be that (the victim) might overstay his welcome,” Monson’s report states.
Johnson said that it happened because the victim’s 911 call coincided with the on-duty officers trying to come up with a prank for the off-duty officers.
“Sgt. Johnson wanted to make sure that it was on record that this wasn’t a situation where they aimlessly looked for a person to use (as) a ‘pawn’ for their prank,” Monson’s report states. “He added that they would not have driven to the Lighthouse Mission or Drop-In Center to find just anyone that was hanging out on the sidewalk.” (The Drop-In Center is an emergency overnight homeless shelter in Bellingham.)
Whipple, who parked across the street from Shari’s to watch, told Monson that the victim is constantly looking for a ride and a cup of coffee, so at the time of the incident, she thought to herself “No harm, no foul ... get a reaction and while at the same time give him something he is always looking for ... didn’t seem like there would be anything negative to it.”
Read the disciplinary letters and the Bellingham Police Department mission statement and code of ethics:
This story was originally published August 13, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
