SEQUIM — A Sequim police officer who took a military flare-like device to work is the subject of an internal investigation, Lt. Sherri Crain said Monday.
“We are looking into whether there was a policy violation,” said Crain, who would not identify the officer.
“I am pretty limited in what I can say because this is a personnel issue.”
The device was “older looking,” and Crain said she wasn’t sure what kind of chemicals it had.
“That is part of the investigation,” she said.
“How it was described to me was sort of a flare.”
State Patrol unit
The Washington State Patrol Bomb Squad took the device away about two weeks ago and will test it to see what kind of chemicals were contained, she said.
“It is not uncommon for us to call them,” she said.
“We call them to help with old ammunition that is confiscated — even with firecrackers many times.”
The officer is not on administrative leave, but the investigation will determine if he or she violated Police Department policies by having the device at work.
“There was never any danger to anyone in the public,” Crain said.
“And nothing happened that would impugn the reputation of any of our officers.”
The device was destroyed by the bomb squad, Crain said.
“It would be premature of me to give out much more information as facts because it is still under investigation,” Crain said.
She said that although the device looked like a military object, she would leave it to the investigative team to determine whether it was from one of the military branches.
