King County Sheriff’s deputy charged with assault after March incident

A King County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) deputy was charged with assault in the fourth degree Tuesday, accused of punching a suspect who was handcuffed in the back of a patrol vehicle earlier this year.

The incident involving Deputy Matthew Good happened during a domestic violence call in SeaTac on March 7.

Court documents state that after suspect David Teson had been arrested, handcuffed and secured into the patrol vehicle — he kicked one of the deputies on scene, knocking him backwards.

Good stepped in and “punched Teson six to eight times in the chest,” the charging documents state. Other deputies present intervened and separated Good from Teson. A sergeant on the scene said Good’s use of force was “neither necessary nor proportional for the situation.”

The charging documents state that according to the deputies who observed the altercation, Teson did not attempt to strike Good at any time.

After the report was submitted to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for review, they retained a use-of-force expert to review Good’s use of force. The expert concluded Good’s use of force “was not necessary and was unreasonable,” and later added “gratuitous force” was used.

Good “engaged in a series of poor police tactics and use of force that created an officer and citizen safety hazard and increased the risk of injury to the involved parties,” the expert also said toward the end of the report, according to the charging documents.

More crime news: Oregon man convicted of murder in shooting of sheriff’s deputy in Washington sentenced to life

Good is on administrative leave, according to KIRO 7.

More on the charge

Good has been charged with assault in the fourth degree, which is a gross misdemeanor in the state of Washington.

“For a felony to be charged under Washington law, a victim must sustain a substantial bodily injury as a result of the assault,” King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office spokesperson Casey McNerthney said in a statement emailed to KIRO Newsradio Tuesday. “According to investigators, the victim in this case did not sustain substantial bodily injury as a result of the assault.”

McNerthney added that “such misdemeanor assault cases do not come with a bail request.”

“Defendants in such cases are usually released on their own recognizance with conditions of release such as no contact with the victim or location, no new criminal law violations, updating the court of address changes, and appearing for all future court dates,” McNerthney stated in his email.

In Pierce County: Sheriffs seek public’s help to identify woman’s remains

Teson, the original suspect in the case, was charged with assault in the third degree, which is a felony in Washington. As to why Teson’s charge was more substantial McNerthney stated the difference comes from the “legal requirements” under state law.

“An assault on a deputy or officer is an assault in the third degree charge under (Washington) law (without a substantial bodily harm requirement),” McNerthney wrote in his email. “An assault with these circumstances not against an officer is assault in the fourth degree under (Washington) law.”

An arraignment for Good is scheduled for Oct. 25 in Kent.