Court postpones hearing for Bellingham police sergeant accused of domestic violence
A Whatcom County court has postponed a hearing on whether to issue a two-year domestic violence protection order and an order requiring the surrender and prohibition of possession of weapons for a Bellingham Police Department sergeant accused of domestic violence.
At a hearing Monday afternoon, March 11, Whatcom County Superior Court Commissioner Lisa Keeler continued the hearing on whether to enter a permanent domestic violence protection order for a woman who has come forward alleging Bellingham Police Department Sgt. Joshua Richard McKissick, 44, abused her.
Keeler reset the hearing for April 11.
The hearing was continued for roughly a month in order to give McKissick’s attorney time to get acquainted with the case, and based on the availability of the attorneys and the court.
A different court commissioner previously ordered an immediate temporary domestic violence protection order and weapons surrender Feb. 26 against McKissick.
Commissioner Keeler re-affirmed the temporary orders at Monday’s hearing.
The Herald does not typically identify victims of domestic and sexual violence. The Herald has reached out to McKissick’s attorney for comment.
Department response
The Bellingham Police Department became aware Dec. 6 of a report made to another law enforcement agency alleging McKissick had perpetrated domestic and sexual violence against a woman known to him.
Bellingham Police Chief Rebecca Mertzig removed McKissick from patrol duties and placed him on administrative desk duty. An internal administrative investigation into the allegations was also launched at this time, a city of Bellingham spokesperson previously told The Herald.
McKissick was then placed on paid administrative leave in accordance with Bellingham Police Department policy on Feb. 27, following the court-ordered weapons surrender and temporary domestic violence protection order.
The Lynden Police Department is conducting a criminal investigation into the allegations against McKissick, while the Everett Police Department was asked to conduct an internal administrative investigation.
The administrative investigation has been placed on hold until after the criminal investigation has been completed by Lynden police, Everett Police Department Deputy Chief Jeraud Irving previously told The Herald.
Everett police is handling the administrative investigation on Bellingham police’s behalf to avoid any appearance of bias, a city of Bellingham spokesperson previously told The Herald.
“BPD takes all allegations of domestic violence seriously,” the city said in a previous statement. “To preserve our neutrality concerning the ongoing investigations and respect the right to due process, our initial response is all that we can provide at this time.”
The Herald has reached out to the city for an updated comment.
Monday’s hearing
At Monday’s hearing, McKissick’s attorney, Jason Powers, requested a minimum of a four-week long continuance for the hearing on whether to enter a permanent domestic violence protection order against McKissick.
Powers told the court he had recently been hired as McKissick’s attorney and was still familiarizing himself with the case. He said if the court continued the hearing for at least a month, the criminal investigation into McKissick being conducted by Lynden police would hopefully be completed by that time, and both the attorneys would know whether considerations for charges had been forwarded to the Whatcom County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
“That way we can make an informed decision on how to proceed in our response,” Powers said at Monday’s hearing.
Powers said that McKissick has a Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself, and those factors needed to be considered by the court.
Powers also requested the court modify the existing temporary order requiring McKissick to surrender all firearms and other dangerous weapons and prohibiting him from having them. Powers requested that McKissick be allowed to have access to a service pistol that he would check in and out from the Bellingham Police Department while he was at work. He said McKissick would not be allowed to leave the premises with the firearm, but that modifying the existing weapons surrender and prohibition order would allow McKissick to return to desk duty at work.
That temporary order is one of the main barriers prohibiting McKissick from participating in work, Powers told the court.
Court records show McKissick surrendered seven weapons, including three shotguns, one rifle, two handguns and an M&P15 rifle, on Feb. 27, in response to the temporary weapons surrender order.
Hathaway, the woman’s attorney, said they were opposed to any modification of the weapons surrender and prohibition order.
Hathaway said it would be inappropriate for the court to modify the order prior to a full hearing on all the evidence. She said that part of the reason her client was in fear, which was stated in the request for the protection order, was due to McKissick’s profession as a law enforcement officer and his easy access to firearms and other weapons.
Hathaway also said they were not opposed to continuing the full hearing a short while, but requested that it not be pushed out more than two weeks. She said that two weeks would give McKissick’s attorney enough time to prepare for the hearing, and that her client has a right to have the matter resolved quickly.
“There is no reason why a temporary protection order should last for a month or months without allowing the victim to be heard in this case,” Hathaway said.
She asked the court to leave all temporary orders in place without any modifications.
Keeler, the court commissioner, said while Fifth Amendment rights always exist, the rules for invoking them differ in a criminal matter versus a civil one. She said she understood that both McKissick and the woman wanted the matter resolved quickly, and initially suggested setting the hearing for three weeks from now.
After some back-and-forth between the attorneys and the court, Keeler set the full hearing for April 11.
Keeler also declined to modify the temporary weapons surrender and prohibition order, stating that there was no legal basis at this time for her to modify it.
History with department
McKissick has been employed with the Bellingham Police Department since February 2007, according to public records obtained by The Herald.
He was promoted to sergeant in February 2021, according to previous posts on Bellingham police’s Facebook page.
McKissick was also a member of Bellingham police’s SWAT team in October 2015, according to Herald archives. It’s unclear at this time if he is still a member of the team.
A city of Bellingham spokesperson declined to answer The Herald’s repeated questions regarding McKissick’s hire date, rank, duties while in that rank, and whether he’s still a member of the SWAT team.
In a fall 2019 edition of a city of Bellingham newsletter, it was stated that McKissick became a neighborhood officer in 2019. He was responsible for 13 neighborhoods north of Whatcom Creek, according the newsletter.
McKissick also provided a wide variety of safety-related training on various topics, such as de-escalation, active shooter response and workplace and personal safety training. He also did work with the then-mayor’s neighborhood advisory commission, according to the newsletter.
Concerning behavior
The request for a protection order alleges a wide range of concerning behavior, including:
▪ McKissick has struggled with mental illness, suicidal ideation and hallucinations, including while at crime scenes. He has also allegedly struggled with alcohol abuse and has made comments that he could kill someone and they would never be found, according to court records.
▪ McKissick has threatened suicide in the past, and has allegedly fantasized about driving off the road after his shifts or sat with a firearm on his lap and contemplated shooting himself multiple times.
▪ McKissick has hallucinated his face or the faces of people he knows while at crime scenes.
▪ McKissick sexually abused the woman and controlled her, including her actions and finances. Following the abuse, McKissick allegedly said “he knows how to kill someone and their body would never be found,” according to court records. He “would go into extreme detail” describing how he would leave his phone at his house and what stores he would purchase supplies from so that he would “be able to get rid of a body so that nobody would ever be able to find it,” the court documents state.
▪ McKissick would act out sexually violent fantasies. The woman said the violence would be severe, and that she’s been in therapy for several years in an attempt to address and heal from the abuse.
▪ McKissick allegedly subjected the woman to a “significant amount” of emotional abuse in 2022.
“I am concerned that without support, (McKissick) is a danger to himself and others,” the court documents state.
The city declined to answer The Herald’s repeated questions regarding whether Bellingham police were aware of the woman’s concerns or whether the department is concerned for McKissick’s safety and well-being.
The city also declined to answer The Herald’s repeated questions regarding what resources Bellingham police provides to its employees regarding mental health, addiction, substance abuse and domestic violence-related issues; whether the department periodically screens or assesses its employees for suicidal ideation, and what resources or steps Bellingham police has taken in an effort to address the impacts the nature of a law enforcement officer’s job may have on them.
Resources
▪ Brigid Collins Family Support Center: 360-734-4616, brigidcollins.org
Brigid Collins Family Support Center professionals are on-call between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., Monday through Friday, to answer questions about children, families, abuse prevention or treatment at (360) 734-4616.
▪ Child Protective Services: Washington state hotline for reporting child abuse and neglect, 866-829-2153.
▪ Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Services: 24-hour Help Line: 360-715-1563, Email: info@dvsas.org.
▪ Lummi Victims of Crime: 360-312-2015.
▪ Tl’ils Ta’á’altha Victims of Crime: 360-325-3310 or nooksacktribe.org/departments/youth-family-services/tlils-taaaltha-victims-of-crime-program/
▪ Bellingham Police: You can call anonymously at 360-778-8611, or go online at cob.org/tips.
▪ WWU Consultation and Sexual Assault Support Survivor Advocacy Services: 360-650-3700 or wp.wwu.edu/sexualviolence/.
If you or a child is in immediate danger, call 911 and make a report to law enforcement.
To report child abuse or neglect call 1-866-END HARM.
