TACOMA (AP) — A Tacoma police lieutenant in charge when officers responded to Pierce County Sheriff Ed Troyer’s altercation with a Black newspaper carrier has been disciplined for his and other officers’ failures to turn on their body cameras.
Newly released records show Lt. Robert G. Stark was given a letter of reprimand in May following an internal investigation which found he arrived at the scene of a call for service, failed to activate his body camera and did not ensure officers on scene had theirs activated, The Seattle Times reported.
“As a leader, you are expected to demonstrate adherence to Department policies and procedures,” said Stark’s reprimand, signed by interim police Chief Mike Ake.
The investigation exonerated four other officers who responded to Troyer’s Jan. 27 emergency call although they admitted to forgetting to wear, or correctly turn on, their body cameras during the call, records show. All of them fell under a grace period from discipline for any officer who broke the new policy after receiving their cameras, an internal affairs lieutenant found.
