Cecily M. Johnson & Nicholas E. Johnson
On the same day a Snohomish County judge issued Nicholas Johnson a DVPO against his tenant Brandon Kiner, LSPD officers told Johnson at his own front door that Kiner "had every right to live here and you have to let him in the house," then walked Kiner inside.
- Officer Chris Lyons
- Sergeant Dean Thomas
- Records Specialist Megan LeBlanc
What the file shows
Sgt. Thomas falsely told Johnson at the scene that he "didn't check the correct boxes" on his DVPO so LSPD couldn't serve it — when the order on its face directed LSPD to serve it. Officer Lyons declined to look at the electronic copy on Johnson's phone, told Johnson that Kiner — who LSPD had jailed the night before on two assault-4 charges and a criminal trespass — had been released and "you have to let him in the house," and then walked him in.
When Lyons left, Johnson and his fiancée locked themselves in an upstairs bedroom. While they hid, Kiner broke the upstairs bathroom door. Johnson's mother had to drive to the police station to confront Sgt. Thomas with a printed copy of the DVPO before LSPD finally returned and served Kiner.
Officer Lyons's response when Johnson asked him to document the broken door for the DVPO renewal hearing: "we have already wasted too much time on this, you got what you wanted. Call the Sgt tomorrow." Earlier, when Johnson warned Lyons that Kiner had been threatening him, Lyons replied: "I hope it's not you I'm coming to arrest."
Records Specialist LeBlanc had assumed the jail would serve the DVPO and never made a hard copy ready for patrol. Sgt. Thomas and Officer Lyons received verbal coaching only. The handwritten complaint letter from the Johnsons is preserved in this PDF and reproduced on this site.
Why this file matters
Verbal coaching for telling the petitioner on a freshly-issued DVPO that the respondent could move back in, then walking the respondent in. This is the live operational template for the pattern LSPD is sued for in Bloom v. City of Lake Stevens.