FIFE — One exposed himself to a female subordinate. The other totaled his cruiser while drunken driving. Yet both former Fife police officers still retain their state certifications, allowing them to work as officers elsewhere.
Fife City Manager Dave Zabell said the two officers can remain certified because they resigned and were not terminated.
But the Tacoma News Tribune reported Sunday that one officer resigned after a pre-disciplinary hearing had been scheduled, and state law states that an officer’s certification can be revoked if the officer resigns in “anticipation of discipline.”
In December, Detective Roy Shane Farnworth drank three to four double vodkas while on duty and subsequently crashed his undercover patrol car into concrete barrier, an investigation by the Sumner police department found. Farnworth, 45, resigned in early May for a “personal reason” after 18 years with the Fife police department.
In January, Lt. Jeff Westover resigned to pursue “personal business adventures” following the revelation from an Auburn police investigation that he had exposed himself to a subordinate employee on numerous occasions over several years and had sex with her once while both were on duty in the Fife police station.
“Neither of those officers has been decertified,” said Tisha Ehret, certification manager for the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission. “Nor have we been notified of misconduct.”
Fife police Chief Brad Blackburn reported to a state commission that neither of the veteran officers met conditions for decertification under state law, Zabell said.
Zabell added that the city acted accordingly.
He said the city did not have enough information to conclude that Farnworth resigned because of upcoming disciplinary action.
Two months before Farnworth resigned, though, Zabell told the detective in a letter that he was considering disciplining him and that a pre-disciplinary hearing had been scheduled.
“We provided the documentation required to the criminal justice training commission,” Zabell said. “We’ve done so accurately and in a timely manner. If the commission feels it’s appropriate to review either of these cases then they should do so,” he said.
At the time of Farnworth’s crash, Blackburn said authorities didn’t have enough evidence to pursue charges against the officer.
In Westover’s case, the criminal investigation did not conclude he committed a crime, and he was never charged with one. Investigators determined that Westover exposed himself to the woman “with consent.”
She was among multiple female employees who alleged that Westover showed them pornographic or otherwise offensive images on his cellphone. But the investigation said there were several inconsistencies between employees and “unresolved questions” about who had knowledge of Westover showing the pictures and videos.
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