Jury finds city of Bellingham responsible for damages in handling of former officer’s abuse
After a two-week trial in Whatcom County Superior Court and one day of deliberation, jurors unanimously decided that the Bellingham Police Department did not take the necessary steps to prevent domestic abuse carried out by one of its former officers.
They ordered the city of Bellingham to pay a combined $2.25 million to the individuals they said were damaged by the department’s negligence.
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 charges related to domestic violence.
According to the plaintiffs, the Bellingham Police Department should have taken action after they were notified by the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office of suspected domestic abuse carried out by Laughlin. By failing to do so, the lawsuit said the department was the proximate cause of damage to DeBruin, Laughlin’s three minor children and Kyla Lanham — Laughlin’s ex-wife and the children’s mother.
DeBruin was personally awarded $1.5 million in damages, and Laughlin’s three children were awarded $250,000 each. The jury found that the police department was not the proximate cause of any damage to Lanham and did not award her any money.
Lanham told the Bellingham Herald following the verdict that she was just glad the children were recognized. She and DeBruin embraced when the verdict was read, and many people in the courtroom clapped.
“This closes a seven-year chapter,” DeBruin said. “I’m glad to close this door. Glad to have it off my shoulders.”
A spokesperson for the city of Bellingham issued the following statement Wednesday night:
“The jury’s conclusion is not the outcome we hoped for. We will be exploring our options moving forward. Domestic violence is devastating and unacceptable, and we hope the plaintiffs and their loved ones continue to find strength and support.”
Bellingham Police Department Deputy Chief Jay Hart, who was sitting in for Chief Rebecca Mertzig at the verdict, declined to comment following the decision.
Scope of trial
The trial focused on the span of time between the Bellingham Police Department’s receipt of abuse allegations in January 2017 and Laughlin’s arrest in February 2018.
DeBruin described on the witness stand the emotional, verbal and physical abuse she endured from her then-husband during this time period. She said Laughlin used to make her check in with him constantly, sharing her location and notifying him of anyone she saw if he allowed her to go out in public without him present.
DeBruin said she was expected to stay up until Laughlin returned from his late police shifts around 3 a.m., and he often would force her to have sex with him. She also had to wake up before him to clean and make breakfast.
“I couldn’t say ‘no’ to something he wanted me to do,” DeBruin said.
Suspicions of domestic violence arose at the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office in 2017 while DeBruin was training to be a deputy there. She had shown up to work with bruises on her face, multiple witnesses said, prompting the memo to be sent to the Bellingham Police Department.
Deputy Julie Baker, a domestic violence specialist who was a detective with the sheriff’s office at the time was asked to meet with DeBruin to ask her about possible abuse. They met in person twice over the 13-month period. Both times she encouraged DeBruin to disclose any abuse, but DeBruin did not.
Baker testified that she was not aware she was meeting with DeBruin on behalf of the Bellingham Police Department, and no one from the department contacted her about the meetings directly afterward.
In his closing argument, David Brown, one of the plaintiffs’ attorneys, said BPD used Baker to “try to excuse some of their inaction.”
However, Robert Christie, one of the attorneys hired to represent the city, used these same meetings as proof of why BPD couldn’t launch an internal investigation into Laughlin prior to his 2018 arrest.
He said in his closing argument Baker and DeBruin’s meetings were just two of seven instances where DeBruin had contact with law enforcement without Laughlin present, during which she could have brought up the domestic violence but did not.
Without DeBruin’s disclosure of the abuse, Christie said that Bellingham police used their best judgment and common sense in the application — or lack thereof — of the department’s domestic violence guidelines. He said “prematurely” launching an investigation into Laughlin would not have “changed things for the better.”
Christie said the harms experienced by the plaintiffs were caused solely by Laughlin, not the city. Laughlin 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.
Brown argued that the department did not assure DeBruin that she would be safe if she disclosed the abuse. DeBruin also testified that Laughlin would talk about how well-liked and respected he was in the department, and how no one would believe her if she told.
“Everything (Laughlin) told (DeBruin) about how he was the golden boy of the department came true,” Brown said. “He was untouchable.”
Damages to plaintiffs
DeBruin’s parents testified about the impact that Laughlin’s abuse had on their daughter and their relationship with her. They said DeBruin began acting differently and ultimately cut ties with them for a period of time.
They described one instance in January 2018 when Laughlin came over to their house in Sumas and refused to leave when asked. Laughlin was ultimately arrested and charged with trespassing, and a protection order was put in place.
DeBruin said Laughlin’s impact on her relationship with her family still “tinges everything good.” It also affects her current marriage and mental health.
Some of the physical and verbal abuse that DeBruin suffered was witnessed by Laughlin’s three young daughters. The oldest, then 5 years old, reported the abuse to her kindergarten teacher, which led to a Child Protective Services investigation.
By this time, Lanham said her relationship with her daughters was changing. They were acting differently and distancing themselves from her, and the damage to their relationship is ongoing. She also testified that while Laughlin never physically abused her, he became progressively more controlling and “volatile” over the course of their marriage.
“Money does not fix what happened,” Brown said, but it is the justice system’s tool in these cases.
He asked the jury for a combined $7 million in damages for the five plaintiffs — approximately three times what was awarded. Still, DeBruin and Lanham expressed hope, especially that it may encourage other victims of abuse to come forward.
“I hope this shows that no one’s above the law,” Lanham said, “even a police officer.”
This story was originally published April 9, 2025 at 6:16 PM.