81 _Renton Police Department Public Records

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C0-12-08



INTERNAL INVESTIGATION ..

SUMMARY SHEET

Com pia int Number _ _ _ _ ; : L . = - a _ - _ \ _ ; ; _ ' 2 _ - _ 0 _ ~ - = - - - -Date of Incident : [ u L j \""3 , 2 t(J \_,_L._._______Type of n c i d ~ n t _ TRu-rH.flAL:t=>\SS$ - U t J ' B U - o F " " ' \ ( ~ Cs: \ A ~ b v e f

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·Assigned !nvest,igator c . . p r - n M f \ N ~ E . . f L Y ~ L <:__u,Jt

Date Assigned .=ruLv \ :;13 1:La\ "2- ·

Due Date -------- Extension

Review Dates_____

'?eputy Chief ____ ____

' ?D_Adnrin!Miicsevich/COinfo



Complaint #C0-12-08

Complaint Summary

The complaint received on July 19, 2012 alleges that Officer. . falsely reported

injuring his right thumb while participating in the Renton Police Department Defensive Tactics

Training at 200 Mill Ave. Son July 13, 2012 at 1600 hours. Officer- reported he i1:ljured

his thumb during the training however Officer reported that priorto-

attending the training she had noticed his injured right thumband - had told her that he

was going to attend defensive tactics training later that day and he was going to report that he

injured it during that training. Officer- attended the defensive tactics training on July

13th at 1430 hours and did in fact report to the instructors that be injured his right thumb during

one of he training scenarios when his thumb got \Vedged bettveen Officer- holster andhip. Department and City injury reports detailing the incident were completed and then signed

by Ofiicer- The allegations if proven to be true would constitute a violation of the

Renton Police Department General Orders listed below.

Allegation #l

Violation of General Order 26.1.1 .ll.B Unbecoming Conduct

Unbecoming Conduct- Members of the Police Department shall conduct themselves at

al! times, both on and off duty, in such a manner as to reflect most favorably on theDepartment Unbecoming conduct shall include that which brings the Department into

disrepute or reflects discredit upon the individual as a member of the Police Department,or that which impairs the operation or efficiency of the Department or the individual.

Allegation #2

Violation of General Order 26.1.1.1l.G Fictitious Illness or lnjurv Reports

Fictitious Illness or lniury Reports - Members of the Police Department shaH not feign

illness or injury, falsely report themselves ill or injured, or otherwise deceive, or attempt

to deceive, any official of he Department as to the condition of their health.

Allegation #3

Violation of General Order 26.1.1.11TT Truthfulness

Truthfulness- Upon the order of the Chief of Police, the Chiefs designate, or a superior

officer, members of the Police Department shall fully and truthfully answer all questionsspecifically directed, and narrowly relating to the performance of official duties, or

fitness for office, which may be asked of them.



POliCE DEPARTMENT

M EMO R A N D UM

DATE: July 18, 2012

TO: Kevin Milosevich, Chief of Police

Commander

FROM: Clark Wilcox, Commander Patrol Services Division

SUBJECT: Officer injury claim

During Tuesday July 17, 2012 command staff meeting we were discussing officers whom

were injured or on light duty. One of names mentioned by Comman d e r -w a s

Officer- who stated he injured his thumb during defensive tactics training,

According to the DT sign up sheet Officer- attended training on July 13, 2012 at

1430 hours.

On Wednesday July 18, 2012 during th e Patrol Services Division monthly meeting, 1

mentioned that we have five to seven officers on light duty and lf we had a project for

them to do let me know. It was asked who was all on light duty. I mentioned Rob Ylinen

as one of them who hurt his thumb in DT recently and was corrected by an officer in th e

division (unknown which officer) who said you mean. . .

Later there was a voice mail message fromSgt- She said that during lunch

with Officer-today, Officer-said tha t - had hurt his thumb prior to

· DT and said he was going to claim it as an injury from DT.I called Officer- and

asked he r to tell me what she knew about Officer- injury. Of f i ce r -sa id she

was at a coifislon with Officer Hyett on July 13 1 2012 approximately 1300 hours when

she saw Of f i c e r - S h e mentioned his hands as she saw a bruise and swollen

thumb. Dufing this conversationOfficer- said, I have DT today and am going to

say I go t hurt !n DT.

As Sgt-said n her phone message, this is inappropriate and misconduct on

-par t .



POliCE DEPARTMENT

DATE:

TO:

FROM:

SUBJECT:

Commander Clinej

M E M 0 R A N D U M

July 23, 2012

Commander P. Cline

Commander

Defensive Tactics Injury Report

The purpose of this memorandum is to inform you of my involvement andunderstanding of an incident involving a Police Department member claiming they were

injured while attending Department training. This Department member atlegedly made

the statement they were going to claim the injury happened at training that had not yet

taken place.

On Saturday, July 14th at 0949 Officer sent me an e-mail {attached) stating

OfficerC.- had injured his thumb the day before (Friday July 13th) at defensive

tactics {DT} tralning. She stated he had come to work that morning and was unable to

draw his weapon so he left to "seek medical treatment". She then advised she had filled

ou t the required paperw'Ork and left lt on Melissa Day's desk.

That same day at 1635Officer- sent another e-mail (attached) stating Officer

-had exted her stating his thumb had been strained and was advised to see a

doctor later in the week.

On Tuesday July 17th at approximately 1500 I called and left a message for Officer

- asking about his status and probable return to work date on his eel! phone.

On Wednesday, July 18th at 1006 Isent an e-mail {attached) to Of f i c e - a sk i ng if

sh e could get a hold ofOfficer- and find ou t a possible prognosis and how he

was doing.

At approximately 1330 that same day, Commander Wilcox invited me into his office to

iisten to a phone message. The message was from Sergean t - - Sergeant

- stated she had lunch with Officer- and had told herOfficer

was injured while attending DT last week. Officer- then told her that she spoke

with Officer- jus t before the DTtraining and that Of f i c e r - t o l d her that he

was going to claim an injury to his thumb happened at the training. Sergeant -

stated she thoughtOfficer- actions were untruthful and unprofessionaL



At 1753 Of f i c e r - h ad responded to my earlier e-maH request (attached) stating

Officer-was still out injured and was not going to be ab!e to see his doctor until

July 23r0•

At 1823 I received a voice mail on my desk phone from Officer ~ e apologized

for the late ca!! as one of his children had turned down his phone. He did not comment

on the injury but stated! could reach him on his cell or home phone.

On Ju!y 19th at 1230 I returned Officer- phone calL 1asked him what had

happened to hls hand. He said "it was a training accident" and described doing weapon

r e t e ~ t i o n in DT and having his thumb trapped in the gun belt ofO f f ic e r - Officer

-had pun and twisted his thumb.causing injury to his thumb and wrist. Officer

- then tated he had surgery on his wrist before thl.s happened. I asked when his

last surgery was and he replied "2000". I asked him if the injury hurt his wrist ln addition

to his thumb. He said th e incident did re-lnjury his wrist but his thumb was a new injury.

I asked him if his thumb was fine before training and he said "yes''.

At 1235 l reported my conversation to Chief Milosevich and Commander Cline. At this

time I have not heard any updates regarding th e incident.

V/r submitted,

Commander- Date



- - · ~ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ' " ' " 'From:Sent; .

To:Subject:

;;;t 4, 2012 16:35

RE: cringe and swear now.,.

c " , ~ · - t " ' t o o · " r 1 e ! r l ' n i , ~ h " ' " ~ ' - i < < ; r · , . . . , · ~ p ( l : > r • r i v r · c ~ + · i e n r i l r " ' o ' l • ' " ' ,,.; . ,;H ' ' c r · 0 !-·rl r ·th·'"· - ~ · ! · ·''" \i,..J r.:<X - n "··· i:'L ....; .... :Lu I: .• . . . . . u '' h. ) __ ... _,a !J L. . J ·-·! :·- "n..:> c; '<,.1V 1-..J<:.> ...... J 1... j · ~ · · ·..l\f , J ~ / vJ, i. f'H..> • eoLLa j uOC\0: 11..3 \-Vt:::e \,

\Nil! advise when 1have fu!'ther

From:·-

Sent: Saturday, July 14, 2012 10:38To:--ubject: Re: cringe and swear now ..

Dam. Thanks for the heads u;:>. . ice work.

Sent: SatJul14 09:49:01 2012Subject: cringe and swear now ..

Hi. Just wanted to let you know- hurt his thumb in DT yesterday afternoon. At the time of the incident a DT

instructor taped it up. Since training was at the very end of the shift- jus t oad it out the extra 20 minutes. He

arrived this morning and was unable to draw hls gun due to the injury and !eft to seek medica! treatment.

Melissa, the CCMSl form & the Incident Report is completed and on your desk.• left the Supervisor's Report of

Emp!oyee injury on your desk fo r review.

Please !et me knotv If either of you need anything further.

POUCE OFFiCER

PATROL OPERATiONS DIVISION

RENTON POUCE DEP!,RTME'-.lT

1055 S. GRADY WAI''RENTON, WA 98057425-430-7500

@RFNTONWA ..9Q'::!

1



From:·.Sent:To:

.._e ~ u ! y 18,2012 17:53

Subject: I : ~Hey there, sorr; for the delay i've been in training all day. I left messages with Melissa on Monday Inquiring what his

next step should be. ! had not heard back from her. The latest 1knew r o ~ l was he was not able to get into his own

doctor until _the 2 ~ r d . I then spoke_ to him and asked what_the ~ n i t i a l d ~ c t o r had told him. T ~ l k in ~ o c t o r toid him he

could g1ve h1m a !!ght-dury letter nght now or follow up With his own ooctor m three days. - o p t e d for the three day

fo!!ovl-up, but then discovered on Monday he wasn't able to get an appointment. I told h:m to go back to the first doctor

to get the light duty paperwork, but I have no t heard back from him. I wil! try and reach him right now to see what i canfind out.

Sent from my !Phone

Hi-

Was wondering if you could do rne a favor? f left a message for- yesterday checking on his status.

Is there any chance you can find ou t how he is doing and what if any, prognosis on his thurnb? Tr,,ing to

project staffing leveis and make sure HR is up to date on his paperwork.

!f your busy or out of town, no worries. l wHI keep trying,

Thanks!

· -ommander-

City of Renton - Potice Department

Phone : (425) 430. . .<imageOOl.jpg>

1









l\ny person who knowingly gives fnlse inforrnation in a claim or

application for industrial insurance benefits shall be gui1ty of a Class

C felony when the claim involves $500 or rnore. I f the c1aim involves

less than $500, the person shall be guilty of a gross misdemeanor

(RC\V 51.48 .020).

All parties - Co1nplete in Full

Benefits can be delayed if all requested information is not com.p1etecl

when your claim is filed. Please supply all requested information to

ens.ure timely processing of your claim by your self insured employeror .its representative.



Renton Police Department

Internal Affairs Investigation

Allegation Summary Officer- C0-12-08

On July 13, 2012 at 1600 hours Renton Police Officer was attending Defensive

Tactics training at 200 Mill Ave. S. During weapons retention training Of f i c e r -was practicing

with his partner o f f i c e r - - r e p o r t e d to the training officers that his right thumb had

become wedged between Of f i c e r - holster and hip when off icer- twisted away.

reported that this caused an injury to his right thumb. The injury was reported on a Renton Police

Supervisor's Report of Injury form, Human Resources and Risk Management Supervisor's Incident

report and a City of Renton Self Insured Accident Report (SIF-2), which were completed byOIC

and signed by Officer-

On July 18, 2012Sergean t - - was notJfied by Officer-- tha t Officer

- thumb was injured prior to the defensive tactics training on July 13, 2012. Sergeant

indicated that- had told her that she was contacted by Of f i c e r - o n July 131h at 1300 hours

while on an accident investigation. - i nd i c a t ed that she noticed - thumb was injured and

swollen and mentioned it to him. -said hat - then old her that he had defensive tactics .

training later that day and he was going to report that the injury occurred there. Officer - r e l a y ed

that information toSergeant- and she sent a memorandum to Commander Wilcox regarding

the possible untruthful reporting of an injury by Officer-

The allegation of wrongdoing by Officer- includes the General Orders violations listed below:

• GO 26.1.1.11.B Unbecoming Conduct

• GO 26.1.1.11.G Fictitious Hlness or Injury Reports

• GO 26.1.1.11.TT Truthfulness



Renton Police Department

Internal Affairs Investigation

C0-12-08

On July 13, 2012 at 1600 hours Renton Police Officer was attending Defensive

Tactics training at 200 MHI Ave. S. During weapons retention trainingOfficer- was practicing

with his partnerofficer- -reported o the training officers that his right thumb had

become wedged between Officer- holster and hip when officer. . wisted away. -

reported that this caused an injury to his right thumb. The injury was reported on a Renton Police

Supervisor's Report of Injury form, Human Resources and Risk Management Supervisor's Incident

report and a City of Renton Self fnsured Accident Report (SIF-2), which were completed by OlC. .

and signed by Officer-

On July 13, 2012Sergean t - - was notified by Of f i c e r - - that Officer

- thumb was injured prior to the defensive tactics training on July 13, 2012. Sergeant

indicated that-had old her that she was contacted by Of f i c e r - o n July 13th at 1300 hours

while on an accident investigation. - i nd i c a t ed that she noticed - thumb was injured and

swollen and mentioned lt to him. -said hat- then old her that he had defensive tactics

training later that day and he was going to report that the injury occurred there. Officer--e!ayed

that information to Sergeant- and she sent a memorandum to Commander Wilcox regarding

the possible untruthful reporting of an injury by Officer-

During the course of the internal investigation Chief Milosevich was contacted by Renton Police Guild

President, Officer Craig Sjo!in. Sjo!in told chief Milosevich that after being notified of the investigation

Officer- contacted him and told him that he had actually injured his hand while on a camping trlp

with Officer·- Sjolin indicated that-had old him that Officer. . as aware that

- thumb was injured while camping and was also aware t h a t - i n t ended to report it as an

on duty injury.

The allegation of wrongdoing by Of f i c e r - includes the Genera! Orders violations listed below:

• GO 26.1.1.11.8 Unbecoming Conduct

• GO 26.1.1.11.G Fictitious Illness or Injury Reports

• GO 26.1.1.11.TT Truthfulness



Commander Paul Cline C0-12-Q8

Finding of Fact

1. is a Renton Police officer and was so employed on July 13, 2012.

2. Officer·-is Renton Pollee Officer and was so employed on Ju!y 13,2012.

3. Officer- and. . ttended defensive tactics training on July 31, 2012 at 1430 hours.

4. Officer- reported that he had injured his right thumb during the defensive tactics

training while participating in weapons retention drills.

5. Officer. .was - partner in the weapon retention drl!ls and was aware tha t

claimed he had injured his right thumb during the drills.

6. Officer- reported to work the morning of July 14, 2012 and told O!C- that he had

injured his thumb in training the previous day and that he could not draw his weapon due to

the injury.

7. - and filled out and signed the City of Renton Incident form and the Supervisors

Report of Injury form and listed the injury to his right thumb as occurring during defensive

tactics training on July 13,2012. -also provided-with an l&l injury report form to

be completed by the employee and doctor.

8. No~ o n

anyof

these forms is there any mention ofOfficer-

injuring his right thumbprior to defensive tactics training.

9. Officer-was off work on J! leav_e time for a total of 60 hours as a result of the alleged

injury to his right thumb in defensive tactics training.

10. Officer- returned to work with a release for full duty on July 2.5, 2012. The L&l injury

report form was completed and turned in. The form was initialed by Off icer -declar ing

that the statements on the form were true to the best of his knowledge and belief.

11. The l&llnjury Report form identifies the cause of the injury as "During defensive tactics

(weapon retention) my thumb became wedged between other officer's gun holster &hip as

officer twisted, wrenching my thumb''.

12. No were on the L&l form is there any mention of a prior recent injuryto- thumb that

occurred from a fall while off-duty.

13. O f f i c e r - -said hat she had contact with Officer- on July 13, 2012 at

approximately 1300 while on a traffic collision scene, prior to his defensive tactics training that

was scheduled for 1430 hours.



14. During that contact she noticed obvious injurieson- right arm and also noted that his

right thumb appeared bruised, swollen and injured as well.

15. O f f i c e r - said that she asked -about he injuries and specifically about the injury

to his right thumband - told her at least twice that he was going to report it as being

injured during his defensive tactics training scheduled for later that day.

16. O f f i c e r - said-never did tell her how he actually injured his right thumb but she

said he seemed serious about report it as an on duty injury and that he wasn't joking around

but was serious saying, there was no doubt in her mind.

17. Officer said that some time later she !earned that Officer- was on Jl leave time

as a result of injuring his thumb during DTtraining on July 13, 2012.

18. O f f i c e r - contacted her supervisor Sergeant- a nd old herabout

thumb being lnjured prior to the defensive tactics training and the fact that he had told her he

was going to report it as occurring on duty at defensive tactics training.

19. Sergeant- informed Commander Clark Wilcox of whatO f f i c e r - had to!d her

about- injuries and how they occurred.

20. Commander Wilcox completed a memorandum dated July 18, 2012 detailing the information

he had been to!d about- injured thumb and forwarded it to Chief Milosevich and

C omm a n d e r -

21. Chief Milosevich forwarded me the information and asked that I begin an investigation into the

incident.

22. Comma n d e r - is- nd he con t a c t ed -by

phone on July 19, 2012 to inquire about the injury, ensure the appropriate forms were

completed and to see if there was any anticipated return to work date.

23. C omm a n d e r - completed a memorandum detaillng his contact with Officer

and the conversation that they had. He provided me with a copy of that memorandum.

24. - reported that - told him that his right thumb was injured in a training accident

during DT training on July 13, 2012. He also said that he had re-injured his right wrist from a

previous surgery but that the injury to his right thumb was a "new injury".- reported

that he asked-if ls thumb was fine before training and said that - said, "yes".

25. I contactedOfficer- and advised him that he was the subject of a departmental internal

investigation regarding alleged fraudulent use of leave time and truthfulness.

26. On 07-26-12 I was contacted by Chief Milosevich and he told me that he had been contacted by

Renton Police Guild President Sergeant Sjo!ln about this investigation. Chief Milosevich told me

that Sjo!in had informed him t ha t - con t a c t ed him after l had given him his notification



of the internal investigation. Sjolln told Chief Milosevich that - had told him that he had

!lijured his right thumb while camping on his days off just prior to July 13 1 2012 and that he was

concerned about losing his job. Milosevich also told me that Sjolin had indicated that Officer

--and-may have been aware of the fact

that -

was going to reportthe injury as occurring on duty at DT training.

27. I notified Officer-that he was also the subject of an internal investigation.

28. Officer--is on the same Patrol squad as Off i c e r - and was working with him

on July 13, 2012. -said he was in briefingwith- on July 13 and also present on a

traffic collision wh e r e - h a d a conversation with O f f i c e r - -said he did not

notice any injurieson- but wasn't really !coking at his hands. -also aid that

-d id not mention any injuries to him during their contacts on July 13, 2012. -

didn't over hear the conversation between-and- at the collision scene.

29. On July 14th, 2012 Officer-saw-at dayshift briefing and noticed that he was not

in uniform. -said hat - told im he had injured his thumb in defensive tactics

training on July 131h. -said- showed him his thumb and he noticed lt was

swollen. -said -went home and to his knowledge did not return to work until

July 25 1" . When - r e t u r n e d to work , - a s k ed him how his thumb wasand

gave him a thumbs-up gesture indicating it was better.

30. 1interviewed Officer ~ n July 27, 2012

31. -told me that he was with Of f i c e r - on a camping trip on July 11,2012 and that

while on that trip Off i ce r - f eU and injured his right thumb.

32. -said hat after returning from the camping trip and prior to attending defensive tactics

training Officer-ca l led him on the phone and asked him to be his partner in OT training

on the 131h. IIIII thought this was "weird" that he did this b e c a u s e - usually partners

with Officer Brunner but thought- asked because he knew his thumb was injured and

he would go easy on him during the training .

33. -said hat Officer-mentioned reporting that the injury to his thumb occurred in

defensive tactics training and claiming l& l but at first he thought he was joking.

34. -said hat he partnered with -during OTtraining and during the training

claimed he injured his right thumb while doing a weapon retention drill with him. -saidimmediately a f t e r - s a i d he injured his thumb he looked at it and it was swollen but he

found it hard to believe that if it was a new injury that it would swell that quickly.

35. -said that- reported the injury to DT instructor Officer· -and hat

taped the thumb.



36. -said he initially thought he might have in jured- thumb in DT training but now

he doesn't think he injured it and thinks- reported the injury as occurring at DT training

to claim it as an on duty injury.

37. Officer-indicated that he believesOfficer- knew what he was doing was wrong

and a violation of the General Orders.

38.--that t was strange that- had mentioned reporting the injury to his thumb

as happening during DT training and then he did report it occurred there.

39. O f fi c e r - said he did not report the fact that he knew- had injured his thurnb off

duty and that - had mentioned claiming it as an on-duty injury to any supervisor

because he initially thought- was joking about reporting lt as an on-duty injury, did not

know what if a n y t h i n g - had told any supervisor about the injury and at first thought he

might have re-injured - thumb n the DT training. ,

40. I interviewed on July 31, 2012.

41. Officer- said he went on a camping trip with O f f i c e r - and while on that trip he fell

and hyper-extended his thumb.-sa id he was able to function at work so he did not

seek any medica! attention and did not report the injury to any supervisor.

42. -sa id ha t prior to returning to work on July 13, 2012 he called Of f i c e r - and that

he "joked" about it being an l&l injury. -sa id he made a comment like, "hey if you

hurt i t camping it's sick leave, if you hurt it at on-duty or in training then it's l&l.

43. Officer- admits that he told Officer- that he was going to claim the injury to histhumb occurred at DT training later ln the day but again said he was just joking.

44. -said he asked- to par tner with him in the DT training that was scheduled for july

13, 2012 at 1430 because he knew- would take it easy on him.

45. -sa id he told DT ins t ructors-and- that he hurt his thumb camping but

that he was going to do the scenarios.

46. -said hat while doing weapon retention drills in the training his thumb got caught on

-holster and he r e ~ i n j u r e d his right thumb but it was worse than the original injury he

sustained while camping.

47. - to ld Off ice r - he injured his thumb in the training drill and Off icer - taped his

thumb. -d id ot participate in any further drills.

48 . - did not contact his or any supervisor to report the Injury to hls thumb until 0430 the

following momlng.

49. Following the training- went home since his shift was over.



50. - texted OIC- on July 14, 2012 at about 0430 and told her he had injured his

thumb in defensive tactics training on the 13111

and didn't know if he could draw his weapon,

51. -showed up for work on July14th but to ld- he could not draw his weapon due to

the DT injury to his thumb.

52. O!C- completed the City of Renton Incident report, the Supervisor's Report of Injury and

provided-with an l&l packet to fill out and give to a doctor when he received

treatment

53. -d id ot mention anything to O!C- about injuring his right thumb while camping

on the weekend but listed the injury on the forms as occurring in defensive tactics training on

July 13, 2012,

54. Officer-signed he injury and incident reports and went home on Jlleave time.

55. Officer - e v e n t u a l l y saw his doctor, was released to full duty on July 24th, 2012 and

returned to work on his first day of rotation on July 25, 201Z.

56. The L&l form completed by- and he doctor makes no mention of the injury to

- thumb occurring from a fall while camping but only stated it was caused during Dt

training while on duty. -initialed he L&l form on July 14, 2012 as being true to the best

of his knowledge and belief.

57. -was n Jl !eave for 60 hours before returning to work.

58. Of f i c e r - had only (1) one hour of sick leave balance and (72} seventy two hours of

personal !eave on June 30, 2012.

59. Off i ce r - sa id that it is we!! know that-doesn't save up his leave time and he

b e l i e v e s - used the l&l for !eave time.

60. Officer- squad was at or below minimum during his absence on J! leave and Officer

- indicated that they had to borrow and call officers in on overtime to cover o ~while he was off on Jlleave time.

61. Of f i c e r - said that-d id ell him he "tweaked" his thumb after they had done the

first scenario during the DT training but that he still wanted to participate in the training. -

said he saw some injuries and stitcheson- arm from a prior surgery. -said hat

during the training he heard- say "ow" several times and he told him a couple of times

to ''lay off" so as no t to injure the thumb. -said after that he heard- say "ow"

loudly on e last time and -reported he had injured his right t humb . - s a i d he taped

the thumb and -d id ot participate in any more scenar ios . - sa id that he probably

shouldn't have le t - p a r t i c i p a t e n the scenario training because of his in jur ies , - sa id



-didn't ell him he injured his thumb while camping and didn't find that out until after

the reported injury during DT training.

62. Officer- said Officer- spoke to him on July 13th prior to the DT training and

he noticed some injuries on his arm from a surgery. - said- told him that he

had injured his thumb while on a camping trip over their weekend. -said e didn't

know- was scheduled for DT later that day but then saw him there and was aware he

told Off i c e r - he injured his thumb during the scenarios. -did ot see the

alleged injury occur.

63. Officer- said he knows that what he did looks bad, but that he did not intend t? falsely

claim that the injury occurred during DT training so he could claim it on L&L

64. When I asked Office- if he was less than truthful when he did not divulge to any

supervisor or on any of the injury forms that his thumb was injured just prior to the DT training

during a fall while camping o f f ~ d u t y he replied, "potentially, but that wasn't my intent".

65. -said he joked about claiming the injury as occurring on duty, that they were poorly

chosen words and in retrospect he jinxed himself.

66. -sa id he does not recall telling Command e r - t h a t he had re-injured his wrist

during the DT training but did remember telling-that he thumb injury was new.

-sa id he does not recall telling-that his thumb was fine before the DT training

as is documentedin- memorandum.

67 . - said he does not remember if he told Comma n d e r - that he injured his thumb

while camping shortly before the DT training howeverC omm a n d e r -

indicated that- never told him his thumb was injured in a fall while on a camping trip just prior to the

DT training and in fact told him his thumb was fine before the training.

68. ! askedOffice- if he believed that id someone was claiming an injury had occurred on

duty and that they had just very recently had a prior injury to the same place did he think that

it was important to notify the supervisors of the prior injury and when they filled out the L&l

forms and City Injury forms that they should make mention of that prior injury,- replied,

"generically speaking, yes". -said his injury he received while camping didn't prevent

him from working but when it got injured again in training it was worse and he couldn't work.

-said he didn't want to say that it was a different injury because obviously it happened

to the same area but it was a worse injury. -said he should have divulged that

information saying, "in hindsight, yes I should have",

69. Officer did injure his right thumb while off-duty on a camping trip and did

not report that to any supervisor when he returned to work. He made comments to two

officers indicating that he was going to report the injury as occurring during the DT training

class he was going to attend on July 13,2012. He attended DTtraining on hls first day back to



work after the camping trip and mentioned he had tweaked his right thumb while camping to

one of the instructors. He participated in DTtraining scenarios with Officer-and alleged

that he injured his thumb while doing so. -now ays he does no t thlnk he injured

- thumb n training. -reported he injury to OlC -Commander

and on City and L&l injury reports as occurring during DT training but never mentioned to any

of them that his thumb was injured just prior to that training while he was camping. -

was off work on Jl injury leave for 60 hours. -now dmits he should have reported the

prior injury to his right thumb to supervisors and on the injury reports he signed. -says

he was only joking when he told other officers that he was going to claim the original injury

occurred on duty so he could claim it as an L&! injury and still contends that he re-in ured hls

thumb during the DT training a c c i d e n t . - said he knows it looks bad that he told other

officers that he was going to report the initial injury as an L&! injury and then he got injured in

training and reported it as an L&l injury but he didn1

t intent to fraudulently report the injury

and use L&l injury leave time.



Renton Police Department C0-12-08

Investigative Summary

Date 07-19-12

I was contacted by Chief Milosevich and he advised me of a possible General Orders violation involving

Officer-- Chief Milosevich told me that it had come to his attention thatOfficer

was currently off duty as the result of an alleged on-duty injury to his left thumb that he reported

receiving while attending Defensive Tactics training on July 13, 2012 at 1430 hours,

Chief Milosevich advised me that he had received a memorandum from Commander Clark Wilcox on

July 18, 2012 that induded the allegation that Of f i c e r - d i d not injure his thumb in defensive

tactics training as he had alleged but that his thumb was actually injured prior to his attending the

training. Wilcox listed the following information in his memorandum to Chief Milosevich.

• He had conducted a Patrol Services meeting on July 18, 2012.

• During that meeting he covered the Department employees who were out on disability

or light duty.

• Included in this !ist was Officer- -w ho was out with an injured thumb that he

had reported occurred during defensive tactics training on July 13, 2012.

• Later that day Commander Wilcox received a voice mail from Sergeant

- to ld im that she had lunch with Officer-nd hat during that lunch

Officer_ .ad old her thatOfficer-had injured his thumb prior to attendingdefensive tactics training and told her he was going to claim it as an injury from

Defensive Tactics training. -had old Sergeant- that she was at an

accident scene on July 13th at 1300 (priorto- scheduled DT), when she

con t a c t ed - and saw his thumb was swollen and bruised. -said hat during

their conversation- told her "I have DT today and am going to say I got hurt in

DT." ~ e p o r t e d this information to Sergeant- who in turn notified

Commander Wilcox. (Wilcox's memorandum to Chief Milosevich is included in this

internal investigation.)

1obtained copies of the RPD Supervisor's Report of Injury, City of Renton HR and Risk Management

Supervisor's Incident report, Self Insured Accident Report (SIF-2), Renton Police Patrol Daily Roster for

July 13, 2012 and the Defensive Tactics Attendance roster for July 2012. ! included those copies in this

investigation. These forms document thatOfficer-was working dayshift north at the Renton

Police Department on July 13, 2012, tha t he attended defensive tactics training on July 13th at 1430

hours, that he reported injuring his right thumb during that training and that he reported and signed the

Employee Injury reports indicating that he injured his right thumb during defensive tactics on July 131h at

1600 hours.

Commander Paul Cline InvestigativeSummary C0-12-08



I contacted Patrol North Commander · -about his investigation. C omm a n d e - i s

Officer- told me he was going to contactOfficer- to confirm

with him how the injury occurred and make sure all the required paperwork was correctly completed.

1600 Comma n d e r - contacted me and told me he had spoken on the phone with-and

he confirmed the injury to his right thumb occurred at the defensive tactics training on July 13, 2012 at

approximately 1600 hours and that prior to that his thumb was fine. He further advised that

was seeking medical attention. lasked-to complete a memorandum documenting his

conversation with- and o forward it to me.

Scheduled days off.

Contacted Comma n d e r - and obtained a memorandum detailing his involvement in this

incident. - m em o r a n d um confirmed that Of f i c e r - h a d attended DT training on July 13,

2012, had injured his right thumb and re-injured an old wrist injury during the training. - sa id

that - had described his injury as a "training accident" that occurred during DT training when his

thumb was trapped in the gun belt ofOfficer·- - t o ld - tha t he accident had

injured his thumb and had re-in jured a prior injury to his wrist. -indicated that - told

him that his thumb was fine prior to the defensive tactics training. I included a copy of Commander

- m em o r an d um n the correspondence section of this investigation.

- to ld me thatOfficer- had contacted him and told him he had been released to full duty

as of Wednesday July 24, 2012. I asked- how ong- had been off due to the injury to his

thumb and wrist and he gave me the following information.

July 13 -reported an injury to his right thumb that occurred at DT training at 1600 hours (End

of shift, no time loss)

July 14 -reported o work but left on Jl time because he could not draw his weapon due to the

injury to his thumb that he reported occurred at DT on July 13th,

July 15 Off Duty on Jl due to thumb injury.

July 16-18 Regularly scheduled days off.

July 19-21 Off duty on Jl due to thumb injury.

Jufy 25 Scheduled to return to work full duty.

Commander Paul Cline Investigative Summary C0-12-08



Total time loss for J! {on duty injury} 60 hours. Total sick leave balance f o r - on 06-30-12 was (1)

one hour. Total Personal Leave balance was (72) hours. See attached Te!estaff schedule and Leave

Balance Report.

I completed the questions for Officer interview.

07-24-12

1100 I contacted Officer by phone at her office to notify her that I needed to interview

her as a witness in this investigation. I asked her when she would be able to meet with me for the

interview and we mutually agreed to conduct the interview in my office on 07-245-12 at 1300.

1300 1met with Officer in my office. l read her the witness officer admonishment and

then interviewed her about her contact with Officer- on 07-13-12. The following is a synopsis of

that recorded interview.

• - told me that both she and Officer -were working on 07-13-12

• -said he contacted Officer-on traffic collision scene and had a conversation

with him.

• -said hat Officer- and Traffic Officer Hyett were also present at the accident

scene.

• - told me she and Officer-were in the roadway away from Officer Hyett and

-when hey had their discussion and she does not believe Hyettor- could hear

their conversation.

• -said she noticed what appeared to be old injuries on O f f ic e r - a rm and asked

him about them and he told her they were old injuries. - then aid she noticed that

- thumb was obviously swollen and bruised. -could not remember if it was his

left or right thumb but did indicate that she was drawn to it because it was obviously injured.

She said she did not notice any injury to hls other thumb. - a sked - what had

happened to his thumb and -said he had DT later in the day and was going to report

that it happened there.

• -said he thought-was just kidding and asked again what happened to his thumb.

-again reiterated that he was going to report it being injured at DT training later in the

day.

• -said he conversation took only about a minute and a half and -never did tell her

how he injured his thumb. -said he was a little surprised at the c o mm e n t

made especially since she had been off duty with an injured hand recently.

• - toid me that on July 18, 2012 she was attending a Traffic Division meeting and

Commander Wilcox announced the department officers who were out on disabl!lty or light

Commander Pau! Cline Investigative Summary C0-12-08



duty. When -heard hat Officer-was ff duty as a result of injuring his thumb

during defensive tactics training on July 13th, 2012 she became concerned,

• -had unch withSergeant-on July 18, 2012 and told her about her conversation

with Of f i c e r - o n July.13, 2012 at 1300. Sergeant- then relayed that

information to Commander Wilcox.

• Officer -told me that she believes that Officer - r e p o r t e d the injury as occurring at

DT training so that it would be covered by the city as an on duty injury. Of f i c e r - said

that she has not spoken to -since uly 13, 2012.

For a more detailed account ofOfficer- recorded statement see her transcribed interview

included ln the statements section of this investigation.

On 08-07-12 at 1512 hours I re-contacted Of f i c e r - by phone to ask her some follow·up

questions. I reminded her that the "witness officer admonition" still applied and she acknowledgedthat. I asked Of f i c e r - if she had specifically noticed the injury to Officer - thumb when

she spoke to him on July 13, 2012 at approx 1300 hours. She told me that she noticed injuries and he

may have shown her his thumb but said that she already had noticed it because it was obviously

injured. I asked Of f i c e r - if she felt thatOfficer- was being serious when he told her

that he was going to report injuring his thumb in defensive tactics training later in the day, or did

she think he was joking around. Of f i c e r - told me, "he was serious, no doubt in my mind".

07-24·12 I contacted Traffic Officer Ralph Hyett and inquired about his involvement in this incident.

Officer Hyett told me that he was with Officer-o n uly 131h investigating a traffic collision and

that he sawOfficer- at that collision scene. Officer Hyett said he did not overhear any of the

conversation between Officer n d Officer- and that he was never dose enough to

-to otice any injury.to his hand.

07-25-12

Officer- returned to work full duty today and reported to dayshift briefing. -turned n

the appropriate return to duty paperwork.

1300 l contacted Officer-and dvised her she was a witness in this investigation. We

mutually agree to conduct her interview today at 1400 hours.

1409!conducted a recorded interview with Of f i c e r - in my office. The following is a synopsis of

that interview.

Off ice r - to ld me that she was working as the North Sector OIC on July 13, 2012 since Sergeant

Summers was on leave time. She said thatOfficer-was also working that day assigned to the

north sector. -said hat she did the brieifing and thatOfficer-was there and sat approx

10 feet away from her. -said hat she did not see any injuries to-hand or thumb but

added that she wasn't looking at his hands and didn't really pay much attention to his condition. She

Commander Paul Cline Investigative Summary C0-12-0S



said that even if he had an injury on his right hand she might not have noticed i t . - did not recall

going to any other callswith- during the day but did remember that he attended defensive

tactics at 1430. ~ a i d that she left early that day and did nots e e - after his DT training.

- told me that she was contacted via text message by- and he told her that he had injuredhis thumb at defensive tactics training and that Off i ce r - had taped it . -said she was

contacted again by-in he early morning hours of Jul14th prior to dayshift briefing. He texted

her telling her that he wasn't sure he could draw his weapon due to the injury to his thumb,

showed up for dayshift briefing on the 14thand- told him to try to draw his duty weapon from

the holster. - tr ied o draw his weapon from hls duty holster but told-he couldn't.

- then advised him he could not work in that condition and advised him he needed to use leave

time and see a doctor about the injury. - c omp l e t e d the Supervisors report of injury and the City

Incident form detailing the injury and its reported cause. She also supplied him with an L&l packet for

the doctor to fiH out. - advised me that officer-signed he report of injury and incident

report.

Later thatday- sald she texted the location of several walk in medical clinics for-to o to

and have his injury treated. -contacted-later o let him know he had been to a walk in

clinic and was given the option of returning to work on light duty or seeing his regular physician ln a

few days. -chose o see his own doctor but was unable to get in to see him for a few day.

- told me tha t - was off on Job Injury leave from July 14111

through the 24th when he was

released by his doctor for full duty. -returned o full duty on July 25th which is the first day of

his (3) three day on duty rotation.

Following my interview with o f f i c e r _ I contacted her again by phone on 03-01-12 at 1620 hours.

The reason! re-contacted her was to clarify a few pointsthat

were in her interview. I advised herthat

the "Witness officer admonition" was still applicable and that she was required to answer my

questions truthfully. She acknowledged that she was aware the admonition was still in effec t I asked

O f f i c e r - her !fat any tlme during her contact withOfficer- he had mentioned that he had

injured his thumb prior to attending defensive tactics training on July 13, 2012. I also asked her if-had old her he injured his right thumb while camping prior to the defensive tactics training

and had re-in jured it in the defensive tactics training class. O f f i c e r - told me that Officer

- never mentioned anything about injuring his thumb prior to th e defensive tactics training or

injuring it while he was camping and then re-injuring it while in defensive tactics training. -

told me that-only old her that he injured his thumb while participating in defensive tactics

training and that is what she put ln her supervisor's report of injury report.

I reviewed th e injury report forms and L&l SIF form and I noted that there was absolutely no

mentionof- thumb being injured prior to defensive tactics training or that it was re-lnjured

in the training. All of the City and department injury reports indicate that the injury to Officer

- r igh t humb was the result of a training accident during departmental defensive tactics

training and make no mention of his thumb being injured prior to that time in an off-duty fall. All of

the injury report forms are included in this investigation in the reports section and are signed or

initialed by Officer-




For a more complete account ofOfficer- interview see her transcribed statement that is

included in this investigation under the statements section.

1440 I contacted O f f i c e r - inCommande-office and advised him that he was the

subject of an internal affairs investigation involving fraudulent use of leave time, conduct unbecoming

and truthfulness. I read him the Pre-Interview Notification, we both signed it and I provided him with

a copy of the form. Comma n d e r - was present during the notification.

0920 I was contacted by Chief Milosevich and informed that he had been contacted by Guild

President, Sergeant Craig Sjolin. Sjolin told Chief Milosevich that after l o t i f i e ~ that he was

the subject of an internal investigation on July 25th, - c o n t a c t e d him to discuss the incident

Chief Milosevich told me that Sjo!in told him Officer- had informed him that he was

concerned about losing his job and that the injury to his thumb had occurred while he was off duty

on a camping trip with Of f i c e r - and not at defensive tactics as he had reported. Chief

Milosevich told me that i t appeared thatOf f i c e r - was aware of how the injury occurred and

had some knowledge that Officer-was going to report it as on on-duty injury. Chief

Milosevich said that Sjolin had told hlm that Defensive Tactics instructorsOfficer·-and

- may have also had some !eve! of knowledge that the injury occurred prior to the DT

training on July 13, 2012.

Following my discussion with Chief Milosevich I prepared interview questionsfo r - and Officer

- f o c u s i ng on both Officers as subjects of this internaL l completed an a !legation summary for

O f f i c e r -

1017 I contacted Officer -and nterviewed him about his knowledge of this incident. Officer

- told me he is on Sergeant Summers Patrol squad withoff ice r - - told me that he

sits one seat away from- in the briefing room and that both of them were working on July 13,

2012 and attended briefing. O f f i c e r - said that he did not notice anything unusual about Officer

- tha t morning and dld not recall seeing any Injuries onoff ice r - - said he did not

spedfical!y look at -r ight hand but added that nothing drew his attention to it either.

O f f i c e r - said that at approximately 1300 he responded to a traffic collision withofficer

but again did not notice anything unusual about him including any injuries. -told me that

Traffic Officer's Hyettand- responded to the collision as well and he remembers speaking to

them but did not overhear any conversation betweenf f i c e r ~ n d

O f f i c e r - Followingthe collision he recalled Officer-went to defensive Tactics training and did not have any

further contact with him that day.

- said that he was in briefing the next morning July 14th, 2012 and noticed thatOfficer

was also there but was not in uniform. He said that Off i ce r - to ld him that he had injured his

right thumb in defensive tactics training the prior day. -said tha t - showed him his

thumb and he noticed it was swollen and appeared injured. -said hat O f f i c e r - went




For a more complete account ofOfficer- interview see her transcribed statement that is

included in this investigation under the statements section.

1440 !contactedOfficer- in Commande- office and advised him that he was the

subjectof an internal affairs investigation involving fraudulent use of leave time, conduct unbecoming

and truthfulness. I read him the Pre-Interview Notification, we bo1 ·

a copy of the form. C omm a n d e r - was present during the

07-26-12

0920 I was contacted by Chief Milosevich and informed that he ha

President, Sergeant Craig Sjo!in. Sjolin to!d Chief Milosevich that a

the subject of an internal investigation on July 25th, -conta

Chief Milosevich told me that Sjolin told him Of f i c e r - h a d

concerned about losing his job and that the injury to his thumb h;

on a camping trip with Off i ce r - and not at defensive tactics •

Milosevich told me that it appeared that f f i c e ~ a s a wart

had some knowledge that f f i c e ~ a s going to report it a

Milosevich said that Sjo!in had told him that Defensive Tactics instr / ___.-

may have a!so had some level of knowledge that the in ~training on July 13, 2012.

Following my discussion with Chief Milosevich ! prepared interview questionsfo r - and Officer

- f o c u s i n g on both Officers as subjects of this internaL I completed an allegation summary for

O f f i c e r -

1017 I contacted Officer-and nterviewed him about his knowledge of this incident. Officer

- told me he is on Sergeant Summers Patrol squad with officer- - told me that he

sits one seat awayfrom- in the briefing room and that both of them were working on July 13,

2012 and at tended briefing. Officer- said that he did not notice anything unusual about Officer

- tha t morning and did not recall seeing any injuries onoff ice r - - said he did not

spedfica!ly look at-r ight hand but added that nothing drew his attention to it either.

Officer- said that at approximately 1300 he responded to a traffic collision withofficer

but again did not notice anything unusual about him including any injuries. - told me that

Traffic Officer's Hyett and - r e s p ond ed to the collision as well and he remembers speaking to

them but did not overhear any conversation between Of f i c e r - a n d Officer- Followingthe collision he rec.a!!ed Officer-went to defensive Tactics training and did not have any

further contact with him that day.

-said ha t he was ln briefing the next morning July 14fu, 2012 and noticed thatOfficer

was also there but was not in uniform. He said that Officer- told him that he had injured his

right thumb in defensive tactics training the prior day. -said t ha t - showed him his

thumb and he notlced it was swollen and appeared injured. -said hat Officer -went

Commander Paul Cline Investigative Summary



home following their contact and to his knowledge did not return to work until July 2St 11, 2012.

-said he did not have any contact w i th - w h i l e he was gone but when he returned to

work on July 25th he asked- how his thumb wasand- gave him a "thumbs up'' gesture

indicating it was better.

For a more complete account ofOfficer- interview see his transcribed statemen t that is

included in the statements section ofthis investigation.

1630 I con tac ted Commander Karlewicz and had him join me in a meeting with Of f i c e r - !

advised O f f ic e r - of the investigation and that he was a subject in the investigation. I read Officer

- the pre-interview notification and we both signed it. ! informed of f i ce r -o f t he allegation

of wrong doing and he said he was aware of what I was talking about. ! o f ~ that l needed to

schedule an interview with him and gave him the option of contacting a Guild representative first. We

agreed to conduct the interview the morning of Friday July 27, 2012 and would determine the exact

time of the interview after he spoke to his Guild Representative and made arrangements to have them

present at th e interview.

1100 l interviewed Officer-in y office. Officer a s accompanied by his Gulld

rep resentat ive Cathy Citron. The following is a summary ofOfficer- statement.

O f f ic e r - totd me that he recalled the incident involvingOfficer- reported thumb injury.

-told me that he went on a camping trip wlth Of f i cer -a round Juty 11, 2012 and that

during that trip Officer- fe l l nd injured his right thumb. When they returned from the

camping trip he received a phone call from Officer-in wh i ch -asked him to be his

defensive tactics training partner on July 13, 2012. -said hat this was unusual because he

usually partners with another officer. - told me that during that phone conve r s a t i o n

told him that he was going to say that he injured his thumb during defensive tactics training and

claim it as an on--duty injury. -said he thought-was joking at first. -said he

attended th e defensive tactics training on Ju!y 13, 2012 and that he partnered with Officer

- said that during the training they practiced a weapons retention drill and during that drill

-claimed he injured his right thumb and subsequently reported that to the DT instructors that

he had injured his thumb during the training. -said that-took of f his gloves immediately

following his reported injury and that he noticed that-right humb was already swollen.

-said he DT instructors were Officers. . Hassinger and Morgan and that

- to ld -that he had injured his thumb during the scenar i o . - a i d that Officer. .taped - thumb ollowing the injury.

-said at first he thought he might have injured- thumb during the DT training but

then indicated he now doesn't think he injured it and thinks- reported the injury as

occurring at the training so it would be an on-duty injury and save leave time. -said t is well

known tha t - doesn't have much available leave time balance and felt that he may have

claimed the injury on l&l to, 11USe it for leave". I asked Officer- with th e n f o r m a t i o ~




had given him, did he thinkOfficer- knew that what he was doing was wrong and a violation

of department General Orders. Officer. . eplied, "yes". Of f i c e r - said he did not report

this information to a supervisor because he did not know what if anythingOfficer- had told

any supervisor about his injury, thought-was joking at first and initially thought he mighthave re-inju red- thumb in defensive tactics training.

For a more complete account ofOfficer- interview see his transcribed statement that is

induded in this investigation.

I reviewed th e transcribed statements o r ~ n d -and ompleted the interview questions

forOfficer-

07-28-12 through 07-29-12

Scheduled days off.

07-31-12

l completed th e questions for Officer-interview and scheduled to meet him at 1400 to

conduct the interview.

1400 I conducted an interview in my office with Officer-· Sergeant Craig Sjo!in sat in on the

interview as -gui ld epresentative. The following is a synopsis of that interview.

Officer- said he was working at the Renton Police department on July 13, 2012 and that he and

Officer ·-attended defensive tactics training at 1430 hours on that date.

1asked- how he had injured his right thumb and he told me that he had initially hurt it while

camping on his days off. -sa id he slipped on a ravine and hyper-extended his thumb. He said

that O f f i c e r - was present when the injury occurred. -sa id hat he did not seek medical

attention for his thumb at that time. lasked- if he had told Officer- that he was going to

claim the injury to his thumb occurred on-duty at defensive tactics training that he was scheduled for

on July 13t11

• -admitted o having a phone conversation wi th -p r io r to returning to

work on July 13 t11 and that during that conversation he "joked"with- about getting l&l for

the injury. -said e made a comment like, "hey you know if you hurt at camping it's sick

leave, if you hurt it at on-duty or in training then it's l&l". -said hat where they come from it

is part of their culture to joke about getting L&l but he didn't intend to do it. He said he asked

to partner with him at the upcoming defensive tactics training on July 131

h so he could mitigate theinjury from getting any worse. -said is thumb was sore and painful but he was still able to

function at work with the injury.

- to ld me that during that training on July 13th he participated in weapon retention scenarios

and that his thumb had become pinned between Officer- holster and gun belt. -said

that as a result of his thumb being pinned and Officer. . wisting away, his right thumb was

injured. He said he reported the injury to DT instructor·-and ha t. . aped his thumb to

Commander Paul C!ine Investigative Summary C0-12-08



support the injury. - told me that he had told Off ice r - and - that his thumb was

sore prior to the defensive tactics scenarios. -said his shift ended when the training was done

and he went home. He did not report the injury to any supervisor at that time. -told me that

the incident re-in jured his right thumb from the previous injury but added that it was a worse injury.

I askedOfficer- If he had told anyone else that his thumb was initially injured while camping.

He told me that Of f i c e r - noticed the injury to his thumb and that he had showed it to her.

-affirmed hat he had told- that he was going to say the injury happened at defensive

tactics training later that day. -said ha t he was just joking when he told thatto

- told me he didn't recall t e l l i ng -how he actually injured his thumb but said he might

have. -said hat on his first day back to work (July 13th)after injuring his hand whlle camping he

did not notify any supervisor that he had injured his thumb while camping on his days off. He

attended defensive tactics training on that sam!:? day at 1430 hours and participated ln weapon

retention scenarios. -said his thumb was still slightly swollen but that he could function.

-said hat while participating in the DT scenarios he re-in jured his thumb.

- told me that when he came back to work on July 14th after re-injuring his right thumb in DTtraining that he reported the injury to his squad OlC. . He told her he didn't think he

could draw his weapon because of the injury to his thumb and when he tried to draw his weapon he

couldn't. O!C- told him he could not work that day due to his !imitations and she completed the

Supervisors report of injury and a City of Renton Incident Report f o rm . - t o l d me that he did

not mention the fact that he had injured his thumb while camping prior to the training but only told

- that he had injured his thumb n ~ d u t y in defensive tactics training the day before. OlC

- issued- an l&l packet to complete and give to the doctor when he saw one. l asked

- if he should have reported that his thumb was injured prior to the DT training when he

reported the injuryto- and he said "Yes, in hind sight that' s probably what I should have

done". I s k e ~ f he told any of the people who treated him for the injury, such as his

doctor, that the injury initially occurred off-duty in a fall and he said that he did not tell them. He

said he did tell them that he hurt his hand in DT training but didn't tell them about injuring it

duty in a fall. -admitted hat he probably should have told them tha t.

- c o n f i rme d that he was off work on Job-lnjury time for approx 60 as a result of the injury to his

thumb and also confirmed that he only had (6} six hours of available sick leave balance in his leave

bank but that he had enough Personal leave time to cover it. - had pprox (72) seventy-two

hours of personal leave balance available)

- to ld me tha t he knows what he did looks very bad but that he did not intend to falsely claim

an on-duty L&! injury. When Iasked-f he was totally truthful in this matter, he said yes.

When I asked if he was less than truthful by not divulging the prior off-duty injury to his hand to any

supervisor or on any of the injury forms he responded, "potentially, but that wasn't my intent".




- to ld me that he joked about claiming th e injury as an l&l injury and that they were poorly

chosen words. He said in retrospect he jinxed himself because he didn't plan to ge t hurt and claim

l&l.

1asked- if he would be surprised to hear that Officer-now believes that he did not hurt

his- hand during the training s cena r i o s , - said that would surprise him,

On August 8, 2012 I conducted a second interview with Officer- to cover a memorandum

completed by C omm a n d e r - regarding this incident dated July 23, 2012, Commander

- m em o r a n d um is included in this investigation in the "Correspondence" section and should

be read prior to reading this second statementby- The following is a synopsis of that follow

up interview.

1asked- if he remembered having a phone conversation On July 23, 2012 with Commander

-about his injury that he had alleged occurred during defensive tactics training on July 13th,

2012. -said he did recall having a phone conversation w i t h - a r o u n d that time.

- sa id he didn't remember a lot of the conversation bu t did remember that he t o ld

that he hurt his thumb In DT t r a i n i ng - sa i d he didn't recall tel l ing- that he had re-

injured his wrist but did recall telling him that the thumb was a new injury. - sa id he didn't

recall- asking him if his thumb was fine before the training and didn't recall telling

- t h a t is thumb was fine before the training. - sa id he didn't recall mentioning

anything about the thumb injury being new or preexisting.

Officer- told me that he doesn't remember if he t o ld - that he had injured his thumb

while camping prior to the defensive tactics training. - told me that he mentioned that his

thumb was injured before DT training to the instructorsJil land- but that he never told

any supervisor, OIC or doctor that he injured his thumb whi!e·camping prior to attending DT training.

-a lso ald that he never reported on any of the City Injury forms or l& l forms that he had

injured his thumb while camping prior to DT training stating, "I don't believe so, no", when l asked

- if he should have divulged that information on the reports of injury he said, "In hindsight,

yes". When 1asked- if he should have divulged t h ~ t information to the supervisor who was

filling out those forms for h i r n , - r ep l i ed , "ln hindsight, yes". -sa id ha t his intent was

not to withhold the information but it was a mistake.

tasked-f he believed that if someone was claiming an injury that occurred on duty and theyhad just very recently had a prior injury to the same place did he think that it was important to

notify the supervisor of the prior injury and when they filled out the L&l forms and City Injury forms

that they should make mention of that prior injury? -replied, "Generically speaking, yes"

bu t continued on to say his injury received while camping didn't prevent him from working but

when it go t injured again in DT training it was worse and he couldn't work. -sa id he didn't

want to say that it was a different injury because obviously it happened to the same area bu t it was




a worse injury because it kept him from work. -ended by saying he should have divulged

that information, saying, "In hindsight, yes I should haven.

For a more detailed account of both of Off icer - in te rv iews see his transcribed statements

that are included in this investigation. - s t a tem en t s #1 and #2)

0 8 ~ 0 1 - 1 2

1contacted Commander-at pproximately 1300 hours and interviewed him about his

knowledge of this incident. The following is a synopsis of that interview.

C omm a n d e r - told me that he became aware that Of f i c e r - h ad allegedly injured his

right thumb in defensive tactics training on July 13, 2012. - to ld me that he had been advised

byOfficer-- that - was seeking medical attention for his injury and would be off

duty on Job Injury leave time until- could see a doctor and be released to work. - to ld

me that on July 18tn he had a conversation wlth Commander Clark Wilcox where he was advised that

priorto- reported injury on Ju!y 1.3, 2012 at 1600 in defensive tactics training, he had spoken

to O f f ic e r - -and old her he was going to claim the injury occurred during his upcoming

defensive tactics training. - to ld me that on July 19, 2012 he spoketo- on the phone.

- s a id ha t during that phone conve r s a t i o n - told him that the injury occurred to his

right thumb during defensive tactics training and called it a "training accident". - sa id ha t

- to ld him that he had prior wrist injuries that were aggravated by the defensive tactics injury

but that the injury to hls thumb was a new injury. - sa id hat -d id ot make any

mention of his thumb being injured prior to the defensive tactics training andwhen-asked

- if his thumb was fine before the training,- replied "yes".

C omm a n d e r - reported this conversation with-to oth Chief Milosevich and t and he

then completed a memorandum detailing his knowledge and involvement in this incident. I included a

. copy of his memorandum in this investigation under the correspondence section.

For a more detailed account ofC omm a n d e r - interview see his transcribed statement

included in this Investigation.

08-02-12

1000 I contacted Officer ~ n d obtained a recorded interview from him regarding his

knowledge of this incident.

Officer. . old me that he is a Police Department defensive tactics instructor and that he was

teaching a DT class on July 13, 2012 at 1430 hours. -told me thatofficers-and- both

attended that training. Off ice r - said that prior to the scenario portion of the training occurring he




noticed tha t - had stitches in his triceps area. He mentioned thatto-and- said

he was fine and could participate in the scenarios. -also said tha t - said his right thumb

was sore but tha t it wouldn't keep him from participating in the class. -told me that

partnered with Officer. .

or the scenarios and that during the scenarios he heard -sayouch on several occasions. -said hat he h e a r d ~ e l l "ouch" loudly on one occasion and

then- reported that he had injured his right thumb during a weapons retention drill. -said

he lookedat- right thumb and said it looked as though it was injured and indicated that it

was shaking. -told me that he taped-r ight humb after he reported the injury,

Off ice r - said that - never mentioned why his right thumb was sore prior to the training and

he did not tell him it was injured while camping on his days off... lso said that he didn't know

-had eported the injury as occurring during DT until he heard there was an internal

Investigation going on. Off ice r - said he never heard from Officer-or nyone else that

-was going to report an injury to his right thumb that he received off duty as occurring during

defensive tactics training. -said ooking back he probably shouldn't have let - p a r t i c i p a t e in

DT training because of the stitches in his arm.

Following the recorded interview l called Officer.. nd asked him a few follow-up questions. I

advised him the witness admonition was still in effect and he acknowledged that fact I asked.. f

he had seen the injury occur and he said he had not. He said he only heard Officer- say ouch"

and then his attention was drawn to them. I asked. . f he had instructed all officers to go slow in

the scenarios and he said he had instructed them to only go 20% during the scenarios and that he had

to ld- and. . o go slow and take it easy because ofwhat- had told him earlier.

08-02-12

1500 ! contacted Officer dvised him that I needed to interview him reference this

investigation. We agreed to meet in my office when he cleared a theft call he was currently on.

1544 I interviewed Officer-in y office on August 2, 2012 at 1544 hours. I read

-his Witness Officer Admonition" prior to the interview. The following is a synopsis of

Officer- interview.

Officer- told me that on July 13, 2.012 he was working for the Renton Police Department

and he was instructing defensive tactics training. He told me that he was teaching a class at 1430

hours with O f f i c e r - ~ Officer Hassinger and Officer Morgan. -told e that Officers

-and- were attending that training class and were partnered for the scenarios.

- said he Instructed the class participants to go slow and not do the scenarios at full speed

so they could avoid any injuries. -told e that he had spoken to Officer -earlier n

the day and had noticed injuries from a surgery on his arms and asked about them. - t o ld

me he was aware that - had gone camping on his days off and said that - told him that

he had injured his hand while on the camping trip. - s a i d e next saw-at Ttraining




later in the day. - s a i d e didn't pay much attention to-and while hey were

doing the training scenarios because he was working with other officers. He said that Off ice r

was working with-and- -told e that he knew- reported injuring his

hand from doing the techniques they were teaching in the c!ass and did not continue with any furtherscenarios after that.

-said hat he saw- t he ollowing day and overheard a conversation between

-and Officer. . ln which- told- that he injured his hand in defensive

tactics and that he couldn't draw his gun from his duty holster. - s a id e never heard

-tell- that he had initially hurt his hand/ thumb while he was off-duty camping but just

said it was during defensive tactics training. - s a i d hat he never heard anyone say that

-was going to report the injury to his right thumb that he received while camping as occurring

at defensive tactics training. - s a i d e heard a rumor sometime after the incident that there

was an internal investigation going on a b ou t - i n j u r y and !eave time use.

For a more complete account ofOfficer- interview see his transcribed statement that is

included in this investigation.

08-03·12 through 08-05-12

Scheduled days off.

08-07-12

I reviewed the transcribed statements ofOfficer- and Command e r - f o r accuracy and

submitted them for final draft.

1512 I contacted Officer-with ollow-up questions from her prior interview. l included the

results of that interview in this summary at the end of her prior interview on July 24, 2012.

1545 ! notified Sergeant Summers that I needed to ask Office- a few follow-up questions and

asked him to see if-would be available later today or tomorrow August 8th to be interviewed.

Summers told me t h a t - r eques t ed to meet the morning of August 8th so he would have time to

arrange for a Guild representative to accompany him to the interview.

08-08-12

0900 I met with Officer- and Guild representative Montemayor in my office to complete the

interview. I included the results of that interview in the investigative summary at the endof-

prior interview that occurred on July 31, 2012. The recorded interview was transcribed and is included

in this investigation.

1reviewedOfficer- transcribed statement for fina! draft,

08-09-12




I received and reviewed the final transcribed statements from this investigation and submitted them

for final draft.

I completed th e "Investigation Summary" and began the "Finding of Fact".

08-10-12

I completed th e Finding of Fact and submitted th e investigation to Chief Milosevich for review.

Documents

81 _Renton Police Department Public Records