<img height="1" width="1" style="display:none" src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=192888919167017&amp;ev=PageView&amp;noscript=1">
Thursday, March 28, 2024
March 28, 2024

Linkedin Pinterest

Seattle cop gets 90 days for explicit Web photos of ex-lover

The Columbian
Published: January 8, 2014, 4:00pm

EVERETT — Detective David Blackmer, a 17-year veteran of the Seattle Police Department, was sentenced Wednesday to 90 days in jail for cyberstalking an ex-lover by posting sexually explicit photos and videos of the woman online in retaliation for ending their extramarital relationship.

Though Snohomish County Deputy Prosecutor Randy Yates had asked District Court Judge Tami Bui to revoke Blackmer’s right to possess a firearm — which would have ended his law-enforcement career — Bui opted not to do so based on the facts of the case.

Defense attorney Ryan Wood had argued that Blackmer was charged with cyberstalking/domestic violence, a gross misdemeanor that is not among the domestic-violence crimes listed in state law that require revocation of a defendant’s firearms right.

Blackmer is tentatively scheduled to report to the Snohomish County Jail on Feb. 4, he said.

“Having a police officer incarcerated is unusual,” Wood said, noting there are “logistical issues” jail officials must first work out to ensure Blackmer’s safety while he’s behind bars.

Blackmer, who was arrested in July and placed on paid administrative leave, will remain on leave while the Seattle Police Department’s Office of Professional Accountability (OPA) conducts an internal investigation. The OPA investigation was put on hold until resolution of Blackmer’s criminal case.

“His status remains the same,” Sgt. Sean Whitcomb, a department spokesman, said Wednesday.

Blackmer, a 44-year-old father of two, made $102,580 last year, according to a database of the city payroll.

Blackmer had vowed to “ruin” the life of the victim after she went to Blackmer’s home in unincorporated Snohomish County in July to tell his wife about their affair, according to prosecutors.

While there, the woman argued with Blackmer, who grabbed her by the neck and pushed her to the ground, charging documents say.

Blackmer and the then-31-year-old woman had begun a sexual relationship in December 2012 after meeting on an Internet dating website, according to the documents.

Within hours of the confrontation at Blackmer’s home, the woman noticed the explicit photos and videos on a phony Facebook page Blackmer created, the documents say. Some of the photographs and videos were taken by Blackmer while Blackmer and the woman were engaged in sexual activity.

She reported the incident to Seattle police, telling investigators she felt “violated” and “degraded.” Police disabled the Facebook page.

Blackmer originally was arrested on investigation of second-degree identity theft — a felony — and cyberstalking/domestic violence, but court records show the case was dismissed because prosecutors didn’t file charges by July 31.

He was charged with the gross misdemeanor on Dec. 10 and pleaded guilty at his arraignment a week later, according to the records.

Bui sentenced Blackmer to 364 days in jail, but suspended all but 90 days, with credit for the two days Blackmer already has served in jail. Bui ordered him to serve five years on probation, pay a $1,000 fine and have no contact with the victim for five years.

Noting that Blackmer underwent treatment for 30 days at a Florida treatment center, Bui said probation officials will decide if that program meets Washington standards; if not, Blackmer also will have to undergo domestic-violence batterers’ treatment as part of his probation.

Blackmer told the judge he was diagnosed with an “attachment disorder” while at the Florida treatment center, which made him emotionally detach from his wife and led to self-destructive behavior and the relationship outside his marriage.

Since returning to his Everett-area home, Blackmer said, he’s been involved in a Christian-based recovery program through his church.

Saying he takes full responsibility for his actions, Blackmer apologized “for my actions to the victim, my family and those I’ve disappointed.”

Loading...