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Bellevue PD
Yet another scandal is rocking the Bellevue Police Department. As many are wondering what exactly is going on within the Department, one officer tells us why we should lay off our criticism. (Photo: Linda Thomas)

Officer: We shouldn't expect Bellevue Police Officers to be saints

BY Jillian Raftery  on January 10, 2013 @ 12:50 pm (Updated: 2:34 pm - 1/10/13 )

The Bellevue Police Department has had some really bad press in the last few months, since a group of officers got punished for behaving badly at a Seahawks game and one admitted to driving drunk. Most recently two high-profile officers were demoted for not reporting their eight-month-long affair to their superiors.

KIRO Radio's Dori Monson has been particularly critical of the Bellevue Police Department and now Mike, a local police officer, is taking issue with Dori's comments.

In a letter to the Dori Monson Show, Mike says we shouldn't expect law enforcement personnel to be perfect, and Dori is holding these officers to an impossibly high standard.

Although Dori respects police officers as a whole, he thinks that Mike missed his point.

"When we trust people to come into our lives carrying deadly force, I want to know that they're people who make good judgments," said Dori. "If they can't make good decisions in their personal life, how can I trust them to have the power of deadly force over my life?"

Dori also takes issue with the way that the Bellevue Police Department has handled these issues.

"My main criticism yesterday was of a leadership, a captain who won't speak about any of this, who has gone into bunker mentality," said Dori. "I think police departments need to be transparent, and Bellevue's has not been."

Read Mike's letter below:

Dear Dori,

For years now I have noticed the media always runs with off duty cop gets DUI stories expecting that all people in this one particular profession be absolute saints. No other profession is held to as high a stardard by the media as law enforcement.

Your continual slander of the Bellevue PD is totally inappropriate. As you may be aware we are living in a fallen world. Nobody is free from sin, including talk show personalities. My guesse is there are tons more cops than talk show personalities nationally meaning statistically there will be more headlines of off duty cops slipping up than radio hosts ect. Freedom of the press isn't intended to slander those that serve.

Most disturbing is on the air today you made a direct correlation between infidelity and being unable to handle a firearm safely! The story as told by you on the radio did not include any gun play by the Captain or whoever finding his ex and whatever coworker who had obviously been intimate. Had there been weapons drawn or shots fired you would have a good point. Workplace affairs happen everywhere but I don't need to stick my nose into other peoples private lives. I understand you need to compete with soap operas for your time slot human nature is apparently attracted to smut...

Disclaimer, cops should be saints. We should all strive to live biblically. Morals aside a messy love triangle is totally unprofessional and should be avoided. But what good does it do to point your finger at Bellvue PD? When the entire culture is in need of significant healing. Look at the most recent elections as evidence about half the voters are backwards on values. Again let's keep personal who's sleeping with who private business in the bedroom.

Do you really think that infidelity makes a person unable to safely handle a firearm?

Sounds like she wanted to be held and feel loved at a low point and did something inappropriate with a man who couldn't resist such a delightful tempation and they were both sinners enough to be unable to outwit the devil.

Absolute good vs. evil is a little bit out of the realm of any single law enforcement agency. Wouldn't you agree?

That's why they say never meet your heroes. On behalf of every cop who ain't a saint please accept my apology. For I like you Dori am disappointed we are living in fallen world and would like to be able to hail cops as saints. I pray one day we will heal the entire culture eliminating the need for media as we know it.

In the mean time can you tone down the finger pointing?

Jillian Raftery, Social Media Captain
Jillian Raftery is a social media captain for the Dori Monson Show. She loves the neighborly vibe of the Pacific Northwest and spends as much time as possible outdoors.
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Comments (29)


  • Add A Comment

  • mnpat wrote...
    Dori I usually agree with you but.........
    January 10, 2013 2:06 pm
    Like all media, you folks can't get enough bad news to jump and run with. You are not exclusive to this club, but media in general feels they can hide behind faux news. If only the radio and TV demigods treated all of us in the world outside media the way you treat other media types, we might all be able to get along. Seldom do I see KIRO or and other outlet investigate other radio or TV forums.........the outlandish commercial claims are reason enough to investigate radio personalities and hold them accountable for their claims.
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  • Zoeller wrote...
    All I can say is-
    January 10, 2013 2:21 pm
    Ha Ha Ha... What a wiener Mike is!
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  • maplefish wrote...
    BPD Mike
    January 10, 2013 4:03 pm
    You are a chickenshit & a wimp. Why don't you just quit and find other suitable work as the night watchmen at Jack in the Box. If you can't take criticism of YOUR Departments Failure, then you have no place trying to protect an serve your community. What makes you think you and your fellow officers should not be held to a higher standard? This cowardly response to media callling out BPD's meltdown simply epitomizes your holier-than-thou above the law, totally dysfunctional, so called law enforcement agency. You should be ashamed of yourself.
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  • zounds wrote...
    Held to a "higher standard"?
    January 10, 2013 4:10 pm
    If not a cop, the Seahawks group would have been in jail.

    If not a cop, the DUI guy would have a DUI.

    If not a cop, the Belllevue hoe and her train would have been fired.

    Though being found in the closet, naked, by your current screws ex lover, who happens to be a peer of yours at work..........

    Priceless!

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  • Nickatnyt wrote...
    Blah Blah Blah
    January 10, 2013 4:07 pm
    "Absolute saints'? "Fallen world"? "Continual slander"? "Significant healing"? -- what a bunch of trite verbosity, Officer Mike. Nothing in your letter is going to change the facts as they stand.
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  • imanegro wrote...
    Much as I like the cops
    January 10, 2013 4:34 pm
    There really is no defending the 2 BPD having an affair. I don't listen to Dori due to work schedule, but if equating infidelity with the inability to handle a weapon is a bit off the mark. In France the guy who discovered then would get away with shooting both of them. Last point: Cops should be (and are) held to a high standard. But unlike the concept of 'paying their fair share' the standard should be defined and well-known. In this case, the standard was known- infidelity is not an approved behavior. If you want to be a cop, be prepared to live closer to the 'biblical' standard than the average citizen.
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  • sportsguru wrote...
    Mike makes it official
    January 10, 2013 5:08 pm

    Cops think they are above any scrutiny. They take our money and make a mockery out of what use to be an honorable profession and think that we should look the other way,lol.

    Let me give you a clue unprofessional Mike, that gun and badge is the public at large giving you authority to make life changing decision regarding OUR LIVES. If you are unable to make appropriate decisions in your personal life, how in the he// can we expect you to make the appropriate decision in OUR LIFE?

    You need to give up your firearm and badge and find another line of work if your skin is that thin that you are unable to have your performance evaluated by the very people that pay your salary, US.

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  • maplefish wrote...
    Guru
    January 10, 2013 10:26 pm
    Touché !
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  • cigarfan wrote...
    Aim lower?
    January 10, 2013 5:58 pm
    Nice to See Dori Aiming so....mediocre.....I think.....
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  • Annie (1) wrote...
    Officer Mike
    January 10, 2013 6:13 pm
    You're right --Police Officers are not saints- no one expects them to be- but for good or ill - they are & should be held to a higher standard. They are expected to make decisions that can affect the publics lives- & their own & more than that they carry deadly force with them while making these decisions. When we hear about engaging in behavior that is breaking the rules - it's obvious they are using poor judgement- & poor judgement is worrisome in your profession- do you expect us to believe that an officer can have poor judgement in his/ her private life - but not on the job? I know that when I hear stories like this my first thought is-- wow if they act this way off duty how can they be trusted on duty. There is a simple solution-- one we all have in life- if you don't want to - or can't obey the rules of conduct at your workplace- change jobs.
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  • 333 wrote...
    Whatever!
    January 10, 2013 6:50 pm
    Free from Sin??? really? driving blacked out, challenging cops and getting kicked out of a game because you can't handle yourself like the other 60,000 people!? free from Sin! Wow Mike..sounds like you want to be held to a lower standard then a average joe.....pathetic.
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  • soo purletiv wrote...
    And I quote @ the 1:30 mark...
    January 10, 2013 7:12 pm
    "hiding in closets naked, uhh, when that's in violation of department rules"

    Since when is hiding in closets naked, against department rules?

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  • soo purletiv wrote...
    Sounds like Mike needs a dictionary
    January 10, 2013 7:21 pm
    Slander? For reals?

    And he comes across as either a union head, or one of the wannabees.

    But then again, I am just an ignorant plebeian...

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