Trial begins in lawsuit against city of Bellingham over handling of police officer’s abuse
A trial to determine whether the city of Bellingham owes damages to individuals alleging the Bellingham Police Department did not take the necessary steps to prevent domestic abuse carried out by one of its former officers began this week in Whatcom County Superior Court. A jury heard opening statements Wednesday.
The lawsuit was filed by Amanda DeBruin and others in March 2020, a little more than two years after DeBruin’s ex-husband and former Bellingham Police Department Cpl. Brooks Owen Laughlin was arrested on domestic violence-related charges.
He was sentenced to eight years in prison in late 2018 for five felonies and four misdemeanors, all of which were related to domestic violence. His sentence was reduced in 2021.
In opening arguments, DeBruin’s attorney, David Brown, laid out a timeline of events for jurors, beginning with a memo sent to the Bellingham Police Department from the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office on Jan. 12, 2017. In the memo, the sheriff’s office alerted Bellingham police that domestic violence allegations had been made against one of their officers.
The allegations should have triggered an “immediate” internal investigation, Brown argued, but no investigation was launched for more than a year, even after letters from DeBruin’s mother alleging abuse were given to Internal Affairs.
The lack of action in response to a “series of red flag incidents” allowed a “campaign of sadistic domestic violence to continue,” according to Brown. He outlined the department’s domestic violence protocol, which he alleged was not followed, leading to further opportunities for Laughlin’s abuse to continue.
Robert Christie, one of the attorneys hired to represent the city, argued that Bellingham police did not take action because they lacked “credible, firsthand information.” Christie emphasized that DeBruin did not disclose the abuse even after being asked about it multiple times, which he said left authorities with “significant limitations” in what they could do.
The Everson Police Department, which ultimately arrested Laughlin in 2018, had launched a prior criminal investigation into him, and Christie said Bellingham police did not want to interfere.
He said the former Bellingham Police Department chiefs, some of whom will be called as witnesses during the trial, “acted responsibly within the boundaries of their role as an employer.” He said Laughlin himself is “the only person responsible” for the abuse, not the city of Bellingham.
Brown told jurors that expert witnesses will be called in to testify about why DeBruin did not disclose the abuse. He said they will discuss the lasting impacts of trauma, the cycle of abuse and the difficulty of escaping domestic violence. DeBruin, as well as Laughlin’s ex-wife and the mother of his three minor children, will also testify.
Jurors will ultimately be asked to decide whether damages should be awarded to the plaintiffs.
DeBruin is asking for $5 million in damages from the city, according to court records. Kyla Laughlin and three minor children are seeking $1 million each.