Linda David investigator suing state

Associated Press

SEATTLE — The lead attorney general’s investigator in the Linda David case who uncovered key evidence in multimillion-dollar judgments against the state has filed a $10 million claim of his own, saying he was punished for being too good at his job.

Karl Parrick, who has been on unpaid leave since Feb. 24, turned in his resignation on Friday. He filed the claim this week accusing Attorney General Christine Gregoire and her aides of mistreating him after he turned up evidence and gave testimony that was used against the state.

"Instead of being rewarded for his excellence, the Attorney General’s Office concluded Mr. Parrick was a liability and retaliated against him," according to the complaint, which was filed with the state Office of Risk Management by attorneys Jody Gross and Pete Fabish.

Parrick was lead investigator in the case of Linda David, who settled with the state recently for $8.8 million after allegedly being abused into disability by her husband, Victor David, aboard a filthy sailboat while he was receiving state support to care for her.

Victor David is being tried in Snohomish County Superior Court on charges of second-degree assault. The jury deadlocked Thursday, and a new trial was set for Dec. 11. (See story on Page 1A.)

Parrick also headed the attorney general’s investigation into the case of three mentally handicapped Kitsap County men who alleged physical and sexual abuse at a state-licensed facility in Bremerton. A jury awarded the men $17.8 million, and Parrick was their main witness against the state.

Gregoire spokesman Gary Larson said Thursday that Parrick "did not want to be held accountable" for adhering to professional standards. Larson said Parrick did not follow rules or use taxpayer money wisely.

A suit will be filed, Parrick’s attorneys say.

The claim highlights the often conflicting tasks the Attorney General’s Office is asked to perform. The office is expected both to protect clients of state agencies and defend the same agencies against lawsuits.

Parrick, a member of the Los Angeles Police Department for 23 years before joining the Attorney General’s Office in 1992, often handled cases that other law enforcement agencies could not or would not.

Parrick was sent to work on the David case after Everett Police declined to pursue it, and he took on the Bremerton case after investigators for the state Department of Social and Health Services failed to follow up on witness information.

Parrick claims the AG’s office began to retaliate against him after his detective work became costly to the state. He alleges that his superiors first barred him from working out of his home on Whidbey Island, as he had done for four years, and instead made him report to a Tacoma office before going on the road for investigations.

After he gave testimony in the Bremerton case in June, he was ordered to commute to Tacoma every day, the claim alleges.

It also alleges that Parrick’s video and recording equipment was taken away, as was his use of a secretary and use of his own car on the job.

Parrick went on leave Feb. 24, citing stress.

The Attorney General’s Office normally reviews all claims against the state but in this case may appoint an outside reviewer, Larson said.

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