Police Chief Doll offers apology at Bellingham council meeting for officers’ prank
Bellingham Police Chief David Doll apologized for a recently disclosed incident in which officers deceived a man with mental health issues and used him as a pawn to prank off-duty officers at a Meridian Street restaurant last year.
“First and foremost I apologize again to each of you and our entire community for the misconduct of my personnel,” Doll said during an online City Council meeting Monday, Aug. 24.
“Your collective reactions of outrage, disappointment and just plain being sickened by what occurred was the same reaction I had,” he said. “This incident has damaged our reputation.”
Doll explained that the incident, which was disclosed in a Bellingham Herald report published Aug. 13, was investigated internally by police administration, human resources and the city’s legal department, and the officers received written reprimands.
He said their remorse over the incident and their collective 44 years of service eased their punishment.
“It is simply not who we are,” he said, and pledged to work toward rebuilding community trust in police.
This story was originally published August 25, 2020 at 8:10 AM.
