By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor.
In a preposterous example of small minded, small town thinking, a chief of police fired a twenty-five year veteran officer for responding to an active shooter call in which three teenagers were murdered and other responding units were calling for help.
The affluent town of Brier, Washington seldom receives more than one call per night but apparently Chief Mike Catlett and Mayor Bob Colinas believe that leaving the city “unprotected” is a greater priority than others who might have been killed by the active shooter and sacked Officer Dan Anderson. Despite what many would call a commendable act to help save lives at great personal risk, Dan Anderson is without a job for doing what every rightful police officer would do without hesitation.
Accused shooter Allen Ivanov, 19, arrived at a friend’s party in Mukilteo with numerous other teens attending. Upset about his ex-girlfriend Anna Bui breaking off their relationship and moving on in her life Ivanov allegedly entered the house, shot Anna and several others–killing two (Jordan Ebner and Jacob Long) and seriously wounding another.
Mukilteo officers called for help and logically Brier Police Officer Anderson responded to assist.
According to the Mukilteo Police Department, in addition to Brier and Mountlake Terrace, Edmonds and Lynnwood sent officers as well. With the exception of Mill Creek those are the closest neighboring cities to Mukilteo and Anderson says Mukilteo officers were on the radio, desperate for help. In fact you know who usually responds to active shooter calls? Everyone
An important fact is that Anderson was one of the first to arrive at the scene and rendered aid to the victims.
Ivanov managed to escape but was later arrested by the Washington State Patrol one hundred miles away. Given the circumstances and facts alleged, if convicted he may face execution by lethal injection or hanging for these murders.
Officer Anderson retired from the State Patrol after a twenty-five year career. He took a job as an officer with Brier in December of 2015 and was eight months into his standard one year Probationary Period.
Just a few days after the incident, Chief Catlett arrived at 4:30 AM and told Anderson he was terminating his employment for ‘leaving the city unprotected to respond to the mass-shooting call.’
Both the Chief and Mayor Colinas believe the city might suffer some disaster if an officer leaves the city limits. The Chief adds that Anderson should have called a supervisor (meaning him) to receive permission. This is an absurd argument.
First, making a phone call while responding to an emergency such as this is hazardous. Officers need to concentrate on their driving during a fast Code-3 response. Speeds can easily exceed one hundred miles an hour on freeways and in the case of city streets there are many distractions and hazards.
Second, the officers must be careful to listen to every detail of radio traffic; which in this case might include other agencies that use different channels such as their own or LEARN. Sirens and wind noise at high speeds makes it more difficult to hear the radio.
Next, having dispatch make the call would be very ill-advised. Dispatchers do not have the time, especially in passing critical information to field units while at the same time calling for medical aid or handling 911 calls from victims and all other traffic on their network.
Lastly, let’s look at what a typical month is for Brier Police Department. I gathered these records from the police department’s news blotter and it contains the last month listed on their webpage. Note: these calls are for entire days and are not signified by what happens during nighttime, if Brier does only receive one or two calls during the night it is likely that perhaps the last or the penultimate calls are what were experienced during the night shift. I suspect they are ordered by time-of-day and I highlighted certain calls for later discussion:
05/01/16
Suspicious Circumstance: 23000 Blk 34 Ave W
Burglary: 23000 Blk 34 Ave W
Assist Mountlake Terrace Police
Suspicious Circumstance: 2300 Blk 215 St SW
05/02/16
Suspicious Circumstance: 3600 Blk 224 Pl SW
Ordinance Violation: 24300 Blk 31 Ave W
Theft: 21500 Blk 32 Pl W
Assist Mountlake Terrace Police
Animal Complaint: 3100 Blk Russet Rd
Civil Complaint: 23600 Blk 35 Ave W
05/03/16
Suspicious Circumstance: 21400 Blk 32 Pl W
Suspicious Circumstance: 2300 Blk 231 Pl SW
Collision: 22200 Blk Brier Rd
Assault: 3600 Blk Larch Way
Stolen Vehicle Recovery: 22600 Blk 224 Pl SW
05/04/16
Traffic Enforcement
Suspicious Circumstance: 2900 Blk 228 St SW
05/05/16
Found Property: 2900 Blk 228 St SW
Alarm Call: 3300 Blk 214 St SW
Suspicious Circumstance: 3300 Blk 224 Pl SW
Assist Mountlake Terrace Police
Verbal Domestic: 23500 Blk 28 Ave W
05/06/16
Traffic Enforcement
Parking Complaint: 22600 Blk Brier Rd
Civil Complaint: 22900 Blk 27 Ave W
Suspicious Circumstance: 2400 Blk 228 St SW
Assist Mountlake Terrace Police
05/07/16
Traffic Enforcement
Suspicious Circumstance: 23600 Blk 28 Pl W
Suspicious Circumstance: 2900 Blk 228 St SW
Alarm Call: 5100 Blk 228 St SW
Noise Complaint: 2400 Blk 231 Pl SW
05/08/16
Traffic Enforcement
Assist Mountlake Terrace Police
05/09/16
Assist Lynnwood Police
Civil Complaint: 23400 Blk 32 Ave W
Abandoned Vehicle: 23500 Blk 39 Pl W
Civil Complaint: 23200 Blk 34 Ave W
05/10/16
Traffic Enforcement
Theft: 4900 Blk 238 St SW
Nuisance Complaint: 2900 Blk 243 Pl SW
05/11/16
Theft: 22200 Blk Brier Rd
Fraud: 2800 Blk 227 St SW
Traffic Enforcement
05/12/16
Assist Mountlake Terrace Police
Alarm Call: 23000 Blk 42 Pl W
Noise Complaint: 2800 Blk Russet Rd
Parking Complaint: 3300 Blk 224 Pl SW
05/13/16
Traffic Enforcement
Animal Complaint: Brier/Alaska Rd
Suspicious Circumstance: 2900 Blk 216 Pl SW
DUI: 21400 Blk 39 Pl W
05/14/16
Traffic Enforcement
05/15/16
Assist Lake Forest Park Police
Parking Complaint: 3100 Blk Alaska Rd
Assist Mountlake Terrace Police
Traffic Enforcement
05/16/16
Traffic Enforcement
Assist Mountlake Terrace Police
05/17/16
Traffic Enforcement
Assist Mountlake Terrace Police
Alarm Call: 3700 Blk 237 Pl SW
Noise Complaint: 2200 Blk 214 Pl SW
05/18/16
Traffic Enforcement
05/19/16
Traffic Enforcement
Burglary: 22000 Blk Vine Rd
Animal Complaint: 2900 Blk 228 St SW
05/20/16
DUI: 21700 Blk Vine Rd
Found Property: 2900 Blk 228 St SW
Civil Complaint: 3500 Blk 223 St SW
05/21/16
Traffic Enforcement
Suspicious Circumstance: 22200 Brier Rd
Assist Mountlake Terrace Police
05/22/16
Traffic Enforcement
Suspicious Circumstance: 3100 Blk 236 st SW
Assist Mountlake Terrace Police
Theft of Auto: 3900 Blk 233 St SW
Stolen Vehicle Recovery: 22200 Blk 48 Ave W
Abandoned Vehicle: 3300 Blk 224 Pl SW
Civil Complaint: 3500 Blk 230 St SW
05/23/16
Alarm Call: 2300 Blk 218 Pl SW
Theft: 23200 Blk 51 Ave W
Alarm Call: 2300 Blk 218 Pl SW
Suspicious Circumstance: 3300 Blk 224 Pl SW
Noise Complaint: 2200 Blk 214 St SW
05/24/16
Stolen Vehicle Recovery: 23200 Blk 32 Ave W
Assist Mountlake Terrace Police
Noise Complaint: 2200 Blk 214 St SW
Parking Complaint: 3200 Blk 226 Pl SW
Theft: 3400 Blk 232 St SW
Alarm Call: 2900 Blk 228 St SW
Suspicious Circumstance: 22800 Blk Brier Rd
Noise Complaint: 2800 Blk Russet Rd
05/25/16
Traffic Enforcement
Assist Mountlake Terrace Police
05/26/16
Assist Mountlake Terrace Police
Traffic Enforcement
Suspicious Person: 2900 Blk 228 St SW
Suspicious Circumstance: 23600 Blk Brier Rd
Suspicious Circumstance: 7200 Blk 228 St SW
Verbal Domestic: 5900 Blk 227 St SW
05/27/16
Assist Mountlake Terrace Police
Alarm Call: 2700 Blk 242 Pl SW
Animal Complaint: 24300 Blk Brier Rd
Suspicious Circumstance: 3900 Blk 228 St SW
Burglary: 21900 Blk Oak Wy
Theft: 2420 Blk 32 Ave W
Suspicious Circumstance: 23100 Blk 24 Ave W
Suspicious Circumstance: 3700 Blk 227 St SW
05/28/16
Disturbance: 3800 Blk 225 Pl SW
Stolen Vehicle Recovery: 22700 Blk Old Poplar Way
Civil Complaint: 2800 Blk 241 Pl SW
Theft: 23900 Blk 35 Ave W
Alarm Call: 3000 Blk 215 Pl SW
Assist Mountlake Terrace Police
05/29/16
Traffic Enforcement
Suspicious Circumstance: 22300 Blk 36 Ave E
Assist Mountlake Terrace Police
05/30/16
Traffic Enforcement
Alarm Call: 2700 Blk 243 Pl SW
05/31/16
Traffic Enforcement
Assist Mountlake Terrace
Alarm Call: 22000 Blk 39 Ave W
Threats: 22600 Blk 22 Pl W
Animal Complaint: 2900 Blk 228 St SW
Suspicious Circumstance: 21400 Blk 50 Ave W
Burglary: 22800 Blk 48 Pl W
Suspicious Circumstance: 4700 Blk 196 St SW
Twenty calls are for “Traffic Enforcement”–the highest number of call type. Eighteen were for assisting neighboring agency Mountlake Terrace. It seems that perhaps leaving the city is a regular occurrence and as stated before, Officer Anderson reported that the city seldom receives more than one call for service during the night.
During the month of May there was only one call for a violence related incident–an assault of some form. Other than the burglary complaints and one DUI the remaining calls were minor in nature. Perhaps the chief and mayor might be upset that a speeder might get away or a barking dog call might go unanswered if one of their officers responds to backup others for an in-progress active shooter call.
The city eventually did offer some form of statement to explain their side. I doubt it came from the mayor directly. It is most likely authored by the city attorney:
Mr. Anderson was let go from his probationary employment because it was determined that during his probationary employment he was not meeting the expectations of the Police Department in several key performance related matters. Prior to the Mukilteo incident, these matters were pointed out to Mr. Anderson by the Police Chief during his probationary employment in an effort to seek improvement in Mr. Anderson’s performance. Mr. Anderson was allowed to repeat his field training with a second field training officer. Ultimately this effort proved unsuccessful and a conclusion was reached that Mr. Anderson should not become a full time post-probationary police officer with Brier.
Mayor Colinas states that the incident was “…another example of a performance issue.” Colinas argues that while Brier supports providing mutual aid to other agencies, Anderson was the only one on duty at the time; he could have called the chief of police before making the decision. Plus, Colinas notes, Mukilteo doesn’t share a border with Brier, but it does share borders with Everett and Lynnwood, which both have large police departments.
Performance issue, really? How does a person with twenty five years experience in one of the largest law enforcement agencies in the state have performance issues in a small town: especially one rated as the thirteenth safest city in the state to live in? Did the average rookie who made it through FTO somehow have a skill set that exceeds Officer Anderson’s? It does not make any sense. In the official termination letter, there is no mention of the Mukilteo shooting but only to unspecific “performance issues”.
The irony is that Brier’s mayor and this poor excuse for a police chief seem to have forgotten that one of their own officers lost his life while struggling with a combative patient, the former mayor of Brier who was suffering an extreme cause of low blood sugar.
Brier Officer Eddie Thomas died of a heart attack but just prior was able to push the emergency button on his radio. Dispatch called for help. Mountlake Terrace officers responded; doing the unthinkable by leaving their own city. Unfortunately, it was not in time and we lost Eddie. I attended the funeral and it was a great tribute from community who gave a defining outpouring of support and comfort for Eddie’s family. Now, just a month away from the ten-year anniversary of this tragic death of one of their own officers (who also was with the department for less than a year) Chief Mike Catlett and Mayor Bob Colinas apparently have shown what is truly important to them: that department policy is so rigid, the lives of others only matter if they reside within the borders of their own small world and mindedness. Hopefully for them they won’t be two blocks outside the city if they become the victims of something bad. After all, rules are rules and the Gods of Brier must be obeyed.
If someone was to be fired it would be Chief Catlett since he obviously is unfit to be a police officer given his indifference to the lives of other officers and victims of shootings. Judgment, and common sense seem not to be present in his personnel decisions. Dan Anderson should take Catlett’s place if Brier had the wisdom to do so. Who would you want to be you backup: Dan Anderson who has the fortitude to engage an active shooter, or Chief Catlett who sits in his office with his nose stuffed in the SOP manual?
In the end Dan Anderson was magnamanous about his demise at the hands of two small minded men–as stated in an interview with KIRO News:
He told [the interviewer] that he went public with the issue because he philosophically disagrees with the police chief’s policy that officers should not respond to other agencies calls, including high risk calls, unless it gets to “the point of common sense” or if other officers are being shot at.
“Do I really have to let it get to that point?” Anderson asked. “Isn’t it enough that (the officers) are recognizing they have a tactical disadvantage and they need more bodies? That’s good enough for me. If that’s not good enough for him [the chief], then maybe I’m not cut out to work for him anymore. And fair enough, it’s his call. That’s his call. But in good faith, I could never, never turn my back on an officer who is screaming for help.”
Now that’s what being a cop is all about. Maybe Brier performed a service to Dan Anderson by firing him and spared him the aggravation of working for such fools.
More information may be obtained from the following sources:
The Honorable Mayor Bob Colinas
rcolinas@ci.brier.wa.us
2901 228th St. SW
Brier, WA 98036
(425) 775-5440
Mike Catlett, Chief of Police
(425) 775-5452
mcatlett@ci.brier.wa.us
By Darren Smith
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