‘Complete disregard for decency and compassion’ as Bellingham officials react to police prank
Bellingham city officials and mental-health professionals reacted with outrage, disgust and disappointment to the news that police officers had used man who suffered from mental illness as a pawn to prank fellow officers.
Jenny Billings, CEO of the Lake Whatcom Residential and Treatment Center, called it a criminal act in a letter to Mayor Seth Fleetwood that she shared with The Bellingham Herald.
“These four officers intentionally set out to abuse and humiliate a vulnerable man for their personal entertainment and pleasure,” Billings wrote.
“The complete disregard for decency and compassion, and the deliberate, calculated, planned victimization of another human life, again, while on duty, wearing the uniform of the Bellingham Police Department, in the guise of protecting and serving our community,” sickened her, she said.
Billings said she was “literally sickened” by The Herald’s investigative report Thursday, Aug. 13, that disclosed the September 2019 incident and she was outraged that the officers showed “no remorse” for their actions and received only letters of reprimand as discipline.
City Council President Gene Knutson told The Herald in an email the council will be discussing the issue with Police Chief David Doll at its next meeting, scheduled for Aug. 24.
“I fully understand people’s anger over this; we all feel it,” Knutson said. “We have to look at our policies and make it perfectly clear if anything happens like this in any department ever, termination is swift and forceful. We can’t tolerate this kind of behavior period. My heart goes out to the victim and his family.”
In an interview with The Herald, Councilwoman Hannah Stone said she went “numb” reading the Herald’s account.
“My mind is still reeling. I truly believe that the way our community treats its most vulnerable members is the true measure of our humanity,” she told The Herald.
“Public servants and first responders should be held to a higher standard. Our officers are sworn to serve and protect. Obviously, it’s a huge breach of trust and also shows unprofessionalism,” Stone said. “It’s incredibly disheartening when the community doesn’t view the police department as an ally.”
Councilwoman Hollie Huthman told The Herald in an interview that she had a similar reaction when council members learned that The Herald was writing about the incident.
“Even today, I have a huge knot in my stomach,” Huthman said. “I feel embarrassed for the city.”
Several council members turned to social media, including Huthman, who is a member of the council’s Public Health, Safety, and Justice Committee and has a bachelor’s degree in sociology and criminology from Western Washington University.
“I, and other council members, learned about this incident a few days ago,” Huthman wrote Aug. 13 on her public Facebook page. “It happened last year. I think I’ve grown more infuriated each day, and particularly this morning in reading the entire story.”
She said the officers showed “complete disrespect and lack of compassion” for the man they victimized.
“Police officers hold a lot of power. We are a society that values, in theory, checks on power in order to make sure power isn’t abused. That also involves accountability and transparency to the people being served. Imagine if this had alternatively been elected officials involved. I’m not satisfied in only learning about this incident now. It certainly feels like something critical is missing in our process,” Huthman said on Facebook.
Councilman Dan Hammill called it “a violation of the community’s trust” on his public Facebook page.
Hammill chairs the council’s Public Health, Safety and Justice Committee and is a member of Whatcom County’s Incarceration Prevention & Reduction Task Force, where he heads the Behavioral Health Committee, and was instrumental in getting the first law-enforcement officers assigned to a mental health detail.
“The actions of Bellingham Police officers in regard to the incident of exploiting a man with a mental health illness last September are reprehensible and unforgivable,” he wrote.
This story was originally published August 15, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
