Arlington fires cop accused of having pictures of child sex abuse

Published 1:30 am Thursday, June 11, 2026

EVERETT — An Arlington police officer accused of possessing images of child sex abuse and domestic violence has been fired.

The city of Arlington terminated Dustin Bartlett, 41, on Thursday, after an internal investigation into “violations of department policy,” according to a release from a city spokesperson.

Bartlett remains in jail after being arrested twice in less than a month on multiple charges out of Island County.

He was initially accused of more than 10 counts of first-degree possession of depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, as well as a charge of fourth-degree domestic violence assault following an arrest on May 18, according to court documents and previous reporting from The Daily Herald.

The alleged assault happened after Bartlett’s girlfriend found the sex abuse material on his computer, the Island County Prosecutor’s Office said. Bartlett is also accused of trying to delete the images and lying to police about the content on his computer hard drive, according to investigators.

Bartlett’s bail was initially set at $100,000, the prosecutor’s office said.

He posted bail and was released, but was arrested again on May 29 for allegedly violating the terms of his bail agreement by going back to his Camano Island home and disobeying a domestic violence no-contact order, the Island County Sheriff’s Office said at the time.

Bartlett had been an officer with the Arlington Police Department for eight years, a city spokesperson previously said.

“The City takes employee conduct seriously and is committed to maintaining high professional standards and public trust,” the city of Arlington said in a release on Thursday morning.

Bartlett is scheduled to be back in court later this month, according to online records.

Ian Davis-Leonard: 425-339-3097; ian.davis-leonard@heraldnet.com