Bellingham police arrest Ferndale cop for allegedly soliciting a minor
A Ferndale police officer was arrested Tuesday for allegedly soliciting a minor, according to a city of Bellingham Wednesday morning press release.
Micahel Scott Langton, 46, was arrested around 9 p.m. on July 26 at his home in Blaine. He was arrested on suspicion of criminal attempt-solicitation of a minor.
Langton was booked into the Skagit County Community Justice Center.
Because the charge involves a minor and is sensitive, Bellingham police won’t be releasing additional information on the investigation at this time, the city press release states.
Bellingham police received a call regarding Langton on Tuesday, July 26, and started an investigation, according to Bellingham Police Lt. Chad Cristelli.
Cristelli said one victim has been identified, but the investigation is ongoing.
Whatcom County asked Bellingham police to investigate in order to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest, Cristelli said.
“We recognize the difficulty and courage it takes for a community member to come forward to report this type of incident. Our officers and detectives have worked long hours on this case. The investigation is still ongoing. We hope to be able to provide more information as it comes in,” Cristelli said in a prepared statement sent to The Herald.
Ferndale police were notified by Bellingham police of its investigation and subsequent arrest of Langton on the evening of July 26, according to Riley Sweeney, a spokesperson for the city of Ferndale.
Langton was placed on paid administrative leave July 26, Sweeney told The Bellingham Herald Wednesday. Langton’s salary is $98,810 per year.
The Ferndale Police Department has started an internal affairs investigation based on the criminal charges Langton is accused of, and the investigation is ongoing, Sweeney said.
“The City believes the Bellingham Police Department will conduct a thorough and complete investigation in this matter. Please refer further case inquiries to the Bellingham Police Department. This is an active case and as such, the City and Ferndale Police Department cannot provide further comments or information until it is fully resolved,” Sweeney said Wednesday in a prepared statement provided to The Herald.
Langton was previously placed on leave in early October 2021 after he allegedly contacted a far-right extremist group roughly a month after members of the group were involved in the deadly U.S. Capitol insurrection in January 2021.
Langton was placed on paid administrative leave Oct. 4 while the city of Ferndale and its police department investigated the claims first reported by Buzzfeed News.
By late October 2021, Langton returned to duty.
Langton was hired by the Ferndale Police Department Aug. 30, 2012, according to departmental records provided to The Herald. Before that he was employed by the Blaine Police Department.
Oath Keepers allegations
On Feb. 4, someone identifying themself as Scott Langton sent an email to the Oath Keepers’ Washington state email address allegedly looking for information about the group, according to previous reporting in The Bellingham Herald.
“To whom it may concern, I’m a current WA State Police Officer looking for information. I’m not looking to be on some Liberal hit list. Whatcom County WA.,” the email reads.
The emails were obtained by McClatchy after an anonymous hacker gathered data from the Oath Keepers and released it to the transparency organization Distributed Denial of Secrets, which posted much of the data publicly online.
The Oath Keepers are a far-right paramilitary group consisting of former or current members of the U.S. armed forces and law enforcement. The group’s anti-government extremist beliefs and ideology encourage its members to disobey orders that they believe violate the U.S. Constitution.
Oath Keepers’ members traffic in unfounded conspiracy theories linked to white supremacist tenets, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League.
More than a dozen members are facing charges in connection with the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Numerous local, state and national government and elected officials have also been linked to being a member of the group, according to ProPublica.
The city became aware Oct. 1 that Langton allegedly sent the inquiring email and placed him on leave “due to the nature of this group,” Sweeney previously told The Herald.
“After a thorough investigation, the Ferndale Police Department concluded this investigation as unfounded,” Sweeney said in a previously emailed statement to The Herald.
Langton returned to duty Friday, Oct. 29, “since no violation of policy or law occurred,” Sweeney said.
Lawsuit history
In the last decade, Langton has been sued twice for allegedly violating people’s civil rights while doing his job, according to federal court records, The Herald previously reported.
Langton was first sued in September 2013 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in Seattle for an incident that allegedly occurred in June 2011 while he was a Blaine police officer.
A Whatcom County man alleged that Langton used excessive force while arresting him without probable cause after a dispute between neighbors, court records show.
The case was dismissed and settled out of court in December 2014.
Langton was also sued in Whatcom County Superior Court in August 2020 for allegedly stopping a woman for a traffic offense but with the alleged goal of investigating her for other drug crimes.
The case was moved out of Whatcom County Superior Court and into federal court in September of 2020.
Records show it was settled out of court and dismissed April 12.
This story was originally published July 27, 2022 at 11:24 AM.
