Officer's role reviewed in accidental gun firing
By Steve Miletich
Seattle Times staff reporter
Seattle police are reviewing the conduct of an off-duty officer who reported earlier this year that she had accidentally fired her personal handgun during a 1:15 a.m. confrontation with a panhandler on Capitol Hill.
The officer, Penelope Fulmer, flagged down other officers the night of the incident, in March, but she didn't tell them she had fired her gun. She said only that she had chased the panhandler after he assaulted a friend of hers outside a restaurant at the corner of 12th Avenue East and East Pike Street.
Two hours later, Fulmer told a commander she had accidentally fired her .38-caliber revolver during the incident, according to two department officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because the case is under review.
Fulmer, a 14-year veteran, said she had fumbled with the gun, which belonged to her and was not her department-issued pistol, the officials said.
Neither the panhandler nor anyone on the street was injured. Officers booked the panhandler into jail for allegedly hitting Fulmer's companion on the head with a glass juice bottle, but he was soon released after he provided detectives with an account of the incident that conflicted with Fulmer's.
Prosecutors for King County and the city of Seattle looked into the matter — even taking secret testimony in King County Superior Court — to determine if Fulmer deliberately fired the gun or made false statements.
No charges were filed and the case was referred to Seattle police internal investigators to determine if Fulmer violated department rules.
Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske met with Fulmer to get her side and is expected to announce a decision in the next two weeks.
Fulmer, 35, did not respond to messages left at work and with a relative.
Her case follows a separate four-year investigation into misconduct by a group of officers working out of the department's West Precinct in downtown Seattle. Kerlikowske last month fired one officer and disciplined two sergeants after investigators uncovered evidence of illegal drug use and other misconduct by the officer and improper actions by the sergeants.
In Fulmer's case, she encountered the panhandler early in the morning of March 17, while she was off-duty and not in uniform. She had left a Capitol Hill bar with a friend to get something to eat and already was upset after discovering her car had been towed, department officials said.
Fulmer and her friend, an off-duty Snohomish County sheriff's deputy, told officers at the scene that the man had aggressively approached them for money, blocking their path and making offensive comments about two women being together.
The women said that when Fulmer tried to walk past the man, he struck Fulmer's companion on the head with the juice bottle, according to an incident report written by the responding officers.
Fulmer told officers she started to chase the man but wasn't able to keep him in sight.
One officer found the panhandler nearby and arrested him.
There is no mention in the incident report of Fulmer firing her gun.
But one officer asked Fulmer if she was "packing" — slang for carrying a gun — department officials said.
Officers had heard what sounded like a gunshot and smelled gunpowder in the air, one official said.
Fulmer said no, but after consulting a police union representative she notified a department commander that she had accidentally fired her gun, the officials said.
The panhandler told officers that Fulmer and her companion had lunged at him and that he swung the bottle in self-defense.
At the request of detectives, King County prosecutors conducted a secret proceeding before a special inquiry judge to determine if Fulmer deliberately fired at the panhandler without legal justification, according to one police official and a lawyer familiar with the case.
Another police official said the type of gun Fulmer was carrying requires a heavy pull on the trigger to fire.
No charges were brought against her by the King County prosecutor's office. City prosecutors separately weighed whether to charge Fulmer with a misdemeanor for making false statements to officers during the incident. But there wasn't enough proof of her intent to bring a criminal case, said Michael Finkle, a supervising attorney in the Seattle City Attorney's Office.
The matter was then referred to Seattle police internal investigators for possible administrative action.
Fulmer told internal investigators she drew her gun because she believed she was chasing a felony assault suspect, one official said.
She said she dropped the gun and accidentally fired it while picking it up, the official said.
Fulmer also explained she had been confused by the term "packing," and believed she was required to first notify a supervisor in her chain of command that she had accidentally fired her gun, the official said.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002673343_cop09m.html
Lets see. If I fired a weapon, on a city street, lied about it, tried every way to cover it up. Where would my A$$ be sitting?
This one just ticks me off 10 ways from sunday
By Steve Miletich
Seattle Times staff reporter
Seattle police are reviewing the conduct of an off-duty officer who reported earlier this year that she had accidentally fired her personal handgun during a 1:15 a.m. confrontation with a panhandler on Capitol Hill.
The officer, Penelope Fulmer, flagged down other officers the night of the incident, in March, but she didn't tell them she had fired her gun. She said only that she had chased the panhandler after he assaulted a friend of hers outside a restaurant at the corner of 12th Avenue East and East Pike Street.
Two hours later, Fulmer told a commander she had accidentally fired her .38-caliber revolver during the incident, according to two department officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because the case is under review.
Fulmer, a 14-year veteran, said she had fumbled with the gun, which belonged to her and was not her department-issued pistol, the officials said.
Neither the panhandler nor anyone on the street was injured. Officers booked the panhandler into jail for allegedly hitting Fulmer's companion on the head with a glass juice bottle, but he was soon released after he provided detectives with an account of the incident that conflicted with Fulmer's.
Prosecutors for King County and the city of Seattle looked into the matter — even taking secret testimony in King County Superior Court — to determine if Fulmer deliberately fired the gun or made false statements.
No charges were filed and the case was referred to Seattle police internal investigators to determine if Fulmer violated department rules.
Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske met with Fulmer to get her side and is expected to announce a decision in the next two weeks.
Fulmer, 35, did not respond to messages left at work and with a relative.
Her case follows a separate four-year investigation into misconduct by a group of officers working out of the department's West Precinct in downtown Seattle. Kerlikowske last month fired one officer and disciplined two sergeants after investigators uncovered evidence of illegal drug use and other misconduct by the officer and improper actions by the sergeants.
In Fulmer's case, she encountered the panhandler early in the morning of March 17, while she was off-duty and not in uniform. She had left a Capitol Hill bar with a friend to get something to eat and already was upset after discovering her car had been towed, department officials said.
Fulmer and her friend, an off-duty Snohomish County sheriff's deputy, told officers at the scene that the man had aggressively approached them for money, blocking their path and making offensive comments about two women being together.
The women said that when Fulmer tried to walk past the man, he struck Fulmer's companion on the head with the juice bottle, according to an incident report written by the responding officers.
Fulmer told officers she started to chase the man but wasn't able to keep him in sight.
One officer found the panhandler nearby and arrested him.
There is no mention in the incident report of Fulmer firing her gun.
But one officer asked Fulmer if she was "packing" — slang for carrying a gun — department officials said.
Officers had heard what sounded like a gunshot and smelled gunpowder in the air, one official said.
Fulmer said no, but after consulting a police union representative she notified a department commander that she had accidentally fired her gun, the officials said.
The panhandler told officers that Fulmer and her companion had lunged at him and that he swung the bottle in self-defense.
At the request of detectives, King County prosecutors conducted a secret proceeding before a special inquiry judge to determine if Fulmer deliberately fired at the panhandler without legal justification, according to one police official and a lawyer familiar with the case.
Another police official said the type of gun Fulmer was carrying requires a heavy pull on the trigger to fire.
No charges were brought against her by the King County prosecutor's office. City prosecutors separately weighed whether to charge Fulmer with a misdemeanor for making false statements to officers during the incident. But there wasn't enough proof of her intent to bring a criminal case, said Michael Finkle, a supervising attorney in the Seattle City Attorney's Office.
The matter was then referred to Seattle police internal investigators for possible administrative action.
Fulmer told internal investigators she drew her gun because she believed she was chasing a felony assault suspect, one official said.
She said she dropped the gun and accidentally fired it while picking it up, the official said.
Fulmer also explained she had been confused by the term "packing," and believed she was required to first notify a supervisor in her chain of command that she had accidentally fired her gun, the official said.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002673343_cop09m.html
Lets see. If I fired a weapon, on a city street, lied about it, tried every way to cover it up. Where would my A$$ be sitting?
This one just ticks me off 10 ways from sunday
