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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)


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  • fuster wrote...
    I Agree With Dori; Officer Mike is a Putz
    January 10, 2013 8:08 pm
    Dori is correct. The department first of all must be transparent. What we have around the entire Puget Sound region, it seems, is police departments more concerned with their unions and sweeping misconduct under the rug by using a pretext of an "internal" and obviously totally biased investigation that almost always finds the officer did no wrong. Bellevue, of all places, should not even employ cops that threaten on duty police officers, or citizens at a sports event, cops who lack the capacity to control their consumption of alcohol or drugs. Where is the order for those cops to get a Chemical Dependency Assessment? If this were a citizen, they would surely have been arrested and charged and forced to get such an assessment and follow the recommendations. But Bellevue PD will have none of that and the head of the department takes no public stand against what happened. Yeah, cops need to be able to exercise good judgment, beyond reproach. Mikey, if you can't do that, and it appears you are conceding you cannot, then find a different job. (I hear they are hiring at Wal Mart).
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  • murr wrote...
    (very lightly on the Mr.) Mr. Mike you and your ilk
    January 10, 2013 8:21 pm
    Are the ones that act like you have higher standards. Their is NO slander. If it is not what happened, SPEAK. Ohhh its best to be quiet, like you would like to have the rest of the public. Ill responsible at home, ill responsible at work. Just ill responsible peroid. Like, you change when you put your badge on, or does that give you the hunger of power that you dont have in your personel life. Like I said before, you guys weed this stuff from the inside, you might get a little more respect. By the way in the REAL world, NOT on the tax payer dole, they would have been fired PEROID. Maybe you can just swap seats with the person next to ya.
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  • Ron_Spins wrote...
    Integrity
    January 10, 2013 10:10 pm
    Either you have integrity or you don't.
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  • hpitantso wrote...
    Bellevue Police Dept spokeman
    January 11, 2013 12:12 am
    Thanks for comfirming you have cowards on the job, Disclaimer, cops should be who and what the job requires or get a job where they can be non-saints without morals, get a job at Waste Management so the public doesn't have to smell this anymore
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  • murr wrote...
    Just watch how quick they pull this off my northwest . com
    January 11, 2013 5:31 am
    Anybody want to bet on how many days this is up ????
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  • circuitfr wrote...
    .....
    January 11, 2013 7:22 am
    here is what this Officer doesn't understand. Police Officers are the only people who have the POWER to take away your RIGHTS, even OFF DUTY. A commissioned officer is still commissioned out of uniform. They are also paid for by TAX PAYER DOLLARS.. Dori is not so who cares what he does as long as it isn't aggression towards someone. Police on the other hand are tax payer funded, have power to remove citizens rights, so yeah, I absolutely think they should be held to at least the same standard as everyone else and yes, a higher standard. If Officers shouldn't be held to a higher standard, why do they go through Psychological Checks, Background Checks, Polygraph Check? Why? Because they are expected to be of a high moral standard and make good decisions. That is another problem. We DON'T want the average person being an Officer. We want the best and people with the highest standard. Don't like the criticism? STOP TAKING TAX PAYER DOLLARS THEN!
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  • A T Larabee wrote...
    Sometimes Dori is right
    January 11, 2013 8:42 am
    Mike hasn't got a clue about what the public expects from law enforcement people. The "Blue Wall" has always been in place, and bad apples have always been protected from prosecution from within. Nothing has changed. I've never been on the wrong side except for traffic violations,but I did teach my children to fear, rather than respect law enforcement.
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  • cg5611 wrote...
    never liked BPD attitude
    January 11, 2013 9:10 am
    From the first time I had a run in with them back in 1973. It was a very minor traffic infraction, the right hand turn on red, and I was treated with a spat of verble abuse. I was legally licensed (still am), had insurance, NO pervious tickets, arrests, etc. Just a 20 yr. old going to my job. The officer claimed I did not stop long enough at the red light before making the right hand turn. I was new to the area and when I got into work my co-workers all told me to watch out cause Bellevue cops have a real bad attitude towards the citizens they are suppose to serve and protect. It's not just the police either, public service workers act like it's just so much bother to help you.
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  • flipper wrote...
    Anyone?
    January 11, 2013 9:33 am
    Anyone ever hear of falling on one's sword when one screws up (for reference, see Gen. Petraeus)? Seems to be a foreign concept to Police Officers in Seattle and Bellevue.
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  • Forrest wrote...
    Cops use to have an attitude about anyone who made more money than they did.
    January 11, 2013 9:36 am
    Which was just about everybody. Now their union has gained them higher pay and benefits where they generally earn way more than the average citizen. However their pissed off attitude has remained.
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  • HLC wrote...
    I don't agree with sportsguru very often but I do this time.
    January 11, 2013 10:03 am
    That probably scares the he77 out of old sport but it is what it is. One more thing the fact that the cops were knowingly cheating on a spouse should have meant dismissal. The fact that they didn't tell pillo should be secondary. If they had told her would that have made it OK? Time for a police department with some hint of moral fiber.
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  • Ron_Spins wrote...
    Anyone that carries a gun is held to a high standard of care
    January 11, 2013 10:40 am
    a. A degree or level of requirement, excellence, or attainment. b. A requirement of moral conduct. Often used in the plural. This includes the public , someone that has a concealed pistol license.This means the police can't be drunk..this means the police can't be starting fights (Seahawk's game)this means the police have to comport themselves with integrity.
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