Vancouver police have fired a detective in the fallout of an internal affairs investigation of an officer’s relationship with a confidential informant.
Detective Brian Billingsley, 38, was fired March 4 for making false statements, neglect of duty, unbecoming conduct and misconduct discovered during an ongoing investigation of the relationship between former VPD Officer Erik McGarrity and a former confidential informant, Tegan Rushworth.
Billingsley’s termination is the first administrative action taken in the investigation, which has stretched on for more than a year. Two other Vancouver officers remain under investigation, department spokeswoman Kim Kapp said Wednesday. She declined to name the officers still being investigated, but did say they remain on duty.
In a written response to his termination letter, Billingsley contested his firing. The Vancouver Police Guild has filed a grievance against Billingsley’s termination and is deciding whether to seek arbitration for wrongful termination, union President Jeff Kipp said.
Police on Wednesday did not release any specifics surrounding Billingsley’s termination. His relation to McGarrity and Rushworth was also not made clear.
McGarrity, 43, resigned in November in the midst of the internal affairs probe. He was cleared last year of criminal wrongdoing by the Washington State Patrol.
WSP investigation documents, obtained through public records requests, showed that Rushworth worked as McGarrity’s informant on low-level drug-related crimes for several months in 2007. It was after she completed a prison sentence in early 2008 that Rushworth, 25, and McGarrity started their romance. They lived together for a period of time, and had a sexual relationship until late summer or early fall 2009, despite the fact that Rushworth, who reportedly had a methamphetamine habit, continued to have run-ins with the law.
Vancouver police policy states that employees must avoid continued association with those who have a reputation or known involvement in current criminal activity. The VPD oath also says that an officer will “keep my private life unsullied as an example to all.”
Vancouver police also requires any officer aware of possible policy violations — like McGarrity and Rushworth’s relationship — to report them to internal affairs.
Chief Cliff Cook did not immediately return calls for comment Wednesday afternoon, but said in a release: “Such decisions are difficult but are necessary to ensure both individual and organizational integrity. The issue of professional integrity is essential to our effectiveness as police officers. As chief of police, I am obligated to ensure a high level of integrity, trustworthiness and professionalism by every member of this department. This is a duty I consider paramount to my office.”
Kipp criticized police management’s interpretation of the policy around confidential informants. He declined to discuss any details surrounding Billingsley’s alleged false statements, neglect of duty, unbecoming conduct and misconduct.
“The guild is disturbed by the termination of Brian Billingsley,” Kipp said. “He’s a highly respected officer here.”
Billingsley could not be reached for comment.
Vancouver internal affairs documents are unavailable until the entire investigation is complete, but according to the WSP investigation, Vancouver Sgt. Duane McNicholas also knew about the relationship, and Rushworth even attended a barbecue at his home.
Rushworth also said she went out to drinks at Beaches Restaurant with Department of Corrections Officer Fili Matua. A friend reported that Rushworth said she’d been in the home of Vancouver Officer Spencer Harris.
Her relationship with McGarrity raised some eyebrows among those in uniform — “99.9 percent of law enforcement officers are gonna say, ‘Hey, would you do this? And, they’d say no — hell no,’ ” Matua told WSP investigators. But the news of the affair was never reported to higher ranks in the department.
In a WSP interview, McNicholas described Rushworth as “attractive.”
“She never stunk like most of ’em do,” McNicholas said. “She was clean-cut. She just hung out with all these people.”
Very early into the WSP investigation, nearly a dozen letters were mailed to area defense attorneys, alerting them that there may be mitigating evidence in cases in which Rushworth was the informant, Deputy Prosecutor Tony Golik had said.
Rushworth, who was queen of the 2003 Fort Vancouver Rodeo, recently completed a 17-month sentence for car theft, forgery and identity theft at Mission Creek Corrections Center for Women in Belfair. Her record includes other misdemeanor and felony convictions. She did not respond to a letter written to her at Mission Creek requesting an interview.
Andrea Damewood: 360-735-4542 or andrea.damewood@columbian.com
