Latest news with #KitsapCountySheriff'sOffice
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
New WA agency investigating police deadly force incidents sees budget cuts
This screenshot from Kitsap County Sheriff's Office body camera footage shows the moments before law enforcement killed Justin Moegling near Poulsbo last month. (Kitsap County Sheriff's Office) The night of May 7 was a challenge for Washington's nascent agency tasked with investigating when police kill people. The new state Office of Independent Investigations started looking into such cases in December. But only in a swath of western Washington, stretching from the northwestern edge of the Olympic Peninsula to Clark and Skamania counties on the border with Oregon. Lawmakers established the office as an alternative to cops investigating when other cops use deadly force. Around 9 p.m. May 7 near Poulsbo, officers from the local police department and Kitsap County sheriff's deputies tried to subdue a man who had a knife after a traffic stop, the Office of Independent Investigations later reported. Unable to get Justin Moegling, 41, into custody, a Poulsbo officer and Kitsap County deputy reportedly shot him in the head. The state agency sent 15 investigators to the scene. Minutes before midnight in Ridgefield, a Clark County deputy stabbed Marc Fogle, 54, who was held on suspicion of driving under the influence, after he allegedly tried to steal the deputy's gun, investigators say. Fogle died from his injuries. The agency had to reroute a few investigators from Poulsbo to Ridgefield, more than 150 miles away. Others had to come from as far as Spokane to respond. These are two of the four cases the investigative office has responded to in the past seven months. Elsewhere in Washington, teams made up of local detectives from multiple police departments are the ones investigating after officers kill someone. Creation of the state office was driven by the increased push for police accountability in cases where officers use deadly force, especially against Black people, after the deaths of George Floyd in Minnesota and Manuel Ellis in Tacoma. Now, supporters of the agency say budget cuts passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Bob Ferguson last month could threaten the fledgling office's momentum. It took years to get off the ground before December's launch, having to hire new staff, develop policies and conduct training from scratch. Last month, investigators issued their first report, on a fatal police shooting in Vancouver that came just a few days after the office opened. The office's director, Roger Rogoff, still expects to expand the office's reach to another of its half-dozen regions this year. Where exactly that'll be remains to be seen. The more dense King and Pierce counties are each considered their own 'region.' Still, community advocates worry about the cuts. Nickeia Hunter, whose brother was killed by police, said it 'sends the wrong message' to scale back funding for an agency created in light of 'decades of injustice and erasure.' 'While I'm glad to hear Director Rogoff still intends to expand into another region, the reality is that underfunding accountability infrastructure directly undermines trust — especially in communities that have been historically harmed by law enforcement,' Hunter said in an email. Coming into 2025, the Office of Independent Investigations asked the governor and Legislature for more than $53 million in the next two-year budget. This would've been a hike of 40% from its current state funding, mostly focused on increasing staffing. A lack of investigators, especially east of the Cascades, is the biggest issue standing in the agency's way of expanding more quickly. 'It is wholly dependent on us having sufficient resources available,' Rogoff said, noting legislators had previously underestimated how many investigators the office would need. The money would've paid for hiring an additional 30 investigators over the next two years. Instead, lawmakers slashed the office's budget by more than 20%, to a biennial total under $30 million, in the face of a multibillion-dollar budget shortfall that forced a range of cuts. 'I worry about our special needs kids in our schools, I worry about food insecurity, I worry about our immigrant community,' said Sen. Manka Dhingra, a Redmond Democrat and chair of the Senate Law and Justice Committee. 'These are the cuts that were felt all across state government.' Part of the cut to the Office of Independent Investigations' budget was driven by several million dollars the agency hadn't spent that lawmakers had previously approved, said Dhingra, who worked with Rogoff at the King County prosecutor's office. Rogoff is thankful the Legislature didn't chop even more funding. And he's proud of his team's work so far. 'We've hired 63 people in two and a half years, and the level of efficiency and talent and work done in these investigations is pretty phenomenal,' said Rogoff, a former King County judge and prosecutor. Hires include investigators, liaisons for the families of victims, and others. Rogoff wishes the agency was already working statewide. But he promised not to put staff in a position where they're investigating cases without the proper training and resources. 'I will continue to abide by that promise,' he said. 'I think that doing these investigations badly is the worst thing that could happen to this agency.' He's confident lawmakers will eventually give his office the money needed for the additional hiring. In the Vancouver shooting, the Clark County prosecutor is currently reviewing the evidence behind the state office's 99-page report before deciding whether to charge the officer involved. Anna Klein, the chief criminal deputy prosecutor in Clark County, said her office hopes to reach a conclusion in the 'near future.' For years, progressive Democrats have wanted to establish an independent prosecutor to make those choices, given how closely county prosecutors work with local law enforcement. But they've repeatedly failed in that goal, a top priority for police accountability advocates like Hunter. Many of the agency's investigators come from law enforcement backgrounds. If candidates have had a policing job within two years, they have to get approval from the office's advisory board. Beyond the inquiries into new cases, those investigators are also tasked with looking at old instances where police used deadly force and new evidence has been discovered. Members of the public can submit review requests online. The agency has taken up nine such cases, from places ranging from Poulsbo to Yakima to Snohomish County. None have been completed. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Yahoo
Suspect killed in officer-involved shooting in Poulsbo after fleeing traffic stop with knife
This story was originally published on A man armed with a large knife was shot and killed by law enforcement officers Wednesday night after leading them on a pursuit through Poulsbo, police confirmed. The incident began around 9:15 p.m. Wednesday when a Poulsbo police officer attempted to stop a vehicle near Viking Way and Nordic Cove Lane. The driver refused to pull over, prompting a pursuit. Deputies from the Kitsap County Sheriff's Office responded to assist, according to a news release from the Poulsbo Police Department. After the vehicle came to a stop, officers approached the driver, who was reportedly armed with a large knife. Authorities said the suspect refused to comply with commands and posed a threat to officers and deputies on the scene. 'After attempts to de-escalate and the use of non-lethal options were unsuccessful, the suspect continued to present a lethal threat to officers, causing the use of deadly force, which resulted in the death of the suspect,' the police department said in the release No officers or deputies were injured during the incident. The identity of the suspect has not been released. In accordance with standard procedure, the officers and deputies involved have been placed on administrative leave. The Washington State Office of Independent Investigations (OII) has taken over the investigation into the shooting. The area around Viking Way and Nordic Cove Lane was closed for several hours as investigators processed the scene. Further details about the incident, including the events leading up to the shooting and the suspect's background, have not been released. Authorities have not indicated whether body camera footage or dashcam video captured the incident. The Poulsbo Police Department and Kitsap County Sheriff's Office have not provided additional comments beyond the initial news release. Listen to 'Seattle's Morning News' with Charlie Harger and Manda Factor weekday mornings from 5-9 a.m. on KIRO Newsradio. Subscribe to the podcast here.
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Yahoo
Hit-and-run driver wanted in Kitsap County
The Kitsap County Sheriff's Office is asking for the public's help in identifying a car involved in a felony hit-and-run in Silverdale, the sheriff's office posted on Facebook. The sheriff's office says the car could be a grey 1995 Honda Civic and left the scene of the injury collision near 1600 Bayshore Drive, south of Bucklin Hill Road. The car's front bumper was torn off during the collision, the post says. For any information, the Kitsap County Sheriff's Office ask you to call 911.
The Independent
03-04-2025
- The Independent
Bizarre moment police arrest weeping man who allegedly stole ex-girlfriend's chicken
Washington police arrested a weeping man in the woods after he allegedly stole his ex-girlfriend's chicken named Polly. According to a video posted to X by the Kitsap County Sheriff's Office, a woman called 911 on March 29 to report that her unnamed ex, 50, broke into her house. He allegedly screamed, 'I've got Polly' multiple times before fleeing with the chicken. Bodycam shows deputies approaching the man in the woods after a search. 'Don't hurt my chicken,' the man can be heard saying as he cries, still clutching Polly. The officers allowed the man to safely place the chicken in a patrol vehicle. He was charged with burglary and violating an order of protection.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Yahoo
Ex-boyfriend breaks into woman's home and steals chicken named Polly, WA cops say
A 50-year-old man broke into his ex-girlfriend's home and stole her chicken named Polly in Washington, deputies said. The woman called 911 on Saturday, March 29, from her home in Port Orchard, the Kitsap County Sheriff's Office said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. She told authorities her ex kicked down her door, yelled 'I've got Polly' and fled with her chicken, deputies said. Deputies found the man in a wooded area. The moment was recorded on a body-worn camera. The man is heard saying 'don't hurt my chicken' when deputies approach him. 'I'm not going to hurt your chicken,' the deputy says in the video. He put the chicken in a patrol vehicle and deputies detained him. He was arrested on suspicion of residential burglary and violating a protection order. Deputies said he had been released from jail about 2.5 hours before he broke into the home. Polly the chicken was 'unharmed,' according to deputies, and reunited with her family. Port Orchard is about 15 miles from Seattle with a ferry ride. Pet tigers taken from NV property amid legal battle, officials say. 'Breaks my heart' Driver follows man home after he honked, beats him in racist attack, MA officials say Life-size sculptures — of a possible priestess and her husband — found at Pompeii
