Chief Gibson: Redmond Police Remain Committed to Community Amid Allegations

Editor's note: This post has been updated to include new information Redmond Patch has received about the status of claims filed against RPD. Also, Officer Bruton's claim was filed with the city, not King County Superior Court, as was originally reported. This detail has been corrected.

---

Police Chief Ron Gibson has broken the city's silence on a pair of legal complaints filed by two Redmond officers.

Former officer Marcella Fogg filed a $3 million claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission this spring, alleging she has suffered ongoing harassment and retaliation from her peers and superiors since she went undercover at Redmond High School to help orchestrate a 2010 drug bust.

She was recently terminated from her position with RPD, her attorney Robert Kim confirmed to Patch on Wednesday.

A few weeks after Fogg's claim began receiving public attention, Officer Scott Bruton filed his own claim against the city for repeated sexual harassment he allegedly received from former Lt. Glenn Rotton beginning in 2009. Bruton had originally asked for $1 million in damages, but he has since withdrawn his claim.

"He’s not saying that what he put forth is incorrect," said Kim, who also represented Bruton with his claim. “Cops are always worried about retaliation.”

City officials declined to comment when the cases were made public earlier this year, but Police Chief Ron Gibson issued the following written statement to local media on Tuesday:

"As the Chief of the Redmond Police Department, I want to briefly address the recent claims made against the City of Redmond Police Department. I am proud of the manner in which we uphold our core values of integrity, accountability and commitment to service, even at times when these values are put into question. As the Chief, I strongly believe that it is our civic duty and responsibility to fairly hold our employees accountable when their behavior falls short of our high expectations. This is a duty that I take seriously. While I will not comment at this time about any particular claim, I will say that our commitment to accountability is at the root of each of these claims. In each instance, the officer involved was the subject of sustained findings of violations of policies, procedures and/or standards.   

"It is only through this level of accountability that we continue to have the support of the citizens we serve. I remain steadfast that my disciplinary decisions in these cases have been made in a manner that is in keeping with our community expectations, our department values, our internal Manual of Standards, and the Collective Bargaining Agreement established by and between the City of Redmond and the Redmond Police Association (which represents our officers).     

"I believe that our community will continue to have the highest level of confidence in our Department, and that they can continue to be proud of who we are and what we do on their behalf. The Redmond Police Department will continue to serve our citizens and keep our community safe with our high standards in mind."

---

Related coverage:

Second officer files harassment claim against Redmond Police

Redmond cop says department treated other misconduct lightly

Report: Cop who went undercover at Redmond High sues city for $3 million

---

What do you think of the chief's remarks? Have the legal claims affected your opinion of the Redmond Police Department? Tell us in the comments section.