City settles accident-related lawsuit involving fired Bellingham Police detective
The city of Bellingham has settled a civil lawsuit involving a fired Bellingham Police Department detective who rear-ended a female driver with his patrol car in July 2015.
In a unanimous decision at its Monday, Jan. 8 evening meeting, the Bellingham City Council approved a $40,000 settlement and dismissal of the lawsuit and all related claims.
“This was an auto accident, and we’re paying for the damage we did,” council member Michael Lilliquist said at the meeting.
A Bellingham woman filed a civil lawsuit Sept. 12, 2018 in Whatcom County Superior Court against the city of Bellingham and Adam (Bo) McGinty, who was employed at the time as a law enforcement officer with the Bellingham Police Department.
The woman’s lawsuit accused McGinty of rear-ending her vehicle shortly before 12:30 a.m. on July 15, 2015. The woman’s suit said she was driving in Bellingham when two dogs ran onto the road in front of her vehicle.
The woman used her brakes and avoided hitting the dogs. McGinty, who was driving in a patrol car behind the woman, failed to stop and hit the woman’s vehicle, according to court records.
The woman’s lawsuit said she has suffered injuries which required medical treatment, resulting in economic loss to her. The woman also said she suffered lost wages and earning capacity, court records state.
In its Nov. 21, 2018 response to the woman’s lawsuit, the CCity of Bellingham and McGinty admitted that two dogs ran in front of the woman’s car and that McGinty failed to stop and hit the rear of the woman’s vehicle.
The city and McGinty admitted that McGinty “failed to use ordinary care and that his City vehicle collided with the Plaintiff’s vehicle,” according to court records.
Because McGinty was acting within the course and scope of his duties as a law enforcement officer employed by the city, the city is vicariously liable for the damages suffered by the woman, the court records state.
Dismissal threatened
The court had threatened to dismiss the lawsuit three times “for want of prosecution” in the case, meaning due to a lack of activity, according to court records.
The first notice sent to the attorneys was filed Dec. 6, 2019 and stated that because no action had been taken in the case in the past 12 months, the court would dismiss the case without prejudice unless either an action of record in the case was made, or the parties filed a report explaining why nothing of record had been filed in the past year and an expected resolution date in the case.
The woman’s attorney filed a document with the court on Dec. 23, 2019, listing his unavailability in 2020.
Another notice of potential dismissal of the case was filed Jan. 13, 2021. The woman and her attorney then submitted a status report in early February 2021 on actions taken within the past year on the case.
The third and final dismissal notice was filed Sept. 27, 2022. The court then dismissed the case without prejudice on Nov. 1, 2022.
On March 3, 2023, the woman’s attorney filed a motion to reinstate the case. In his motion, the attorney said his firm’s office had changed locations and there had been issues with the post office not delivering mail to the new address.
Additionally, the address that was listed on the notice of potential dismissal was incorrect.
It was later also discovered that neither the woman, the city or McGinty had received the order dismissing the case.
Because the woman’s attorney had not received the notice of potential dismissal or the order dismissing the case, the woman was able to file a motion asking the case be reinstated.
A hearing was held March 24, and the woman’s lawsuit was reinstated. The city and McGinty’s attorney objected to the reinstatement of the case, court records show.
No additional documents have been filed in the case since late March.
Detective fired
McGinty was fired from the Bellingham Police Department on Aug. 18, 2023, after a three-month internal affairs investigation. He is accused of misusing public funds by using another officer’s dry cleaning stipend.
The dry cleaning stipend is offered to employees as part of their collective bargaining agreement.
McGinty allegedly used another detective’s name to obtain $750.98 worth of additional dry cleaning services across 17 months in 2022 and 2023. The other detective was allegedly not using the dry cleaning services during this time, The Bellingham Herald previously reported.
Skagit County prosecutors charged McGinty Oct. 16 in Whatcom County Superior Court with one count each of misappropriation or falsification of accounts by a public officer (a felony), official misconduct (a gross misdemeanor) and third-degree theft (a gross misdemeanor).
If convicted, McGinty faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, in addition to restitution, assessments and court costs, according to court records.
Skagit County prosecutors are handling the case due to conflicts of interest.
McGinty pleaded not guilty to the charges via Zoom on Dec. 7.
His jury trial is tentatively scheduled for March 18.
McGinty was part of the special victims unit and had been with the Bellingham Police Department since March 1, 2015. He was promoted to detective in January 2018 and previously served as Bellingham Public Schools’ resource officer.
McGinty was also the former lead detective who spent more than a year investigating a female high school student’s sexual assault allegations and three Bellingham Public Schools administrators’ alleged failures to report the assaults.
The three administrators reached a resolution in their criminal cases in early December, The Herald previously reported.
This story was originally published January 8, 2024 at 8:30 PM.
