Bad Apple Baseball Cards: Det. Anthony Belgarde
Anthony Belgarde has committed more crimes than a cop should — and gotten away with them too.
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Sexual Assault Unit Det. Anthony Belgarde is extraordinary among Seattle police officers for the number of serious misconduct investigations he’s faced and the times he’s miraculously escaped discipline. In 2014, he endangered an innocent man’s life, firing recklessly at him. The following year, he viciously assaulted someone in a bar.
Belgarde avoided consequences in both of those incidents. The chief personally intervened in the first case, and he was saved by deadlines in the police guild contract in the second. Later, he was pulled over while driving drunk and managed to dodge a suspension—again, because of the contract deadlines.
Let’s take a closer look at Belgarde’s record.
2005: Fatally struck a 65-year-old pedestrian
Belgarde was returning movies to the video store when he hit a 65-year-old man on the way into the parking lot.
He exited his car and turned the bleeding and choking man on his side, which isn’t recommended for serious injuries. The man died on the scene.
Belgarde told police that he was blinded by the headlights of an oncoming car when he struck the man.
The Seattle Police Department was aware of this incident when they hired him two years later.
2014: Fired multiple rounds at innocent bystander
Belgarde and other officers were detaining a man in Rainier Valley when they heard shots coming from up the road.
They took cover and fired several rounds at the vehicle, striking it.
The vehicle stopped. The driver got out and went to the ground, as ordered. The unarmed driver told the officers that he was being shot at from behind.
The Office of Police Accountability initially sustained findings that the officers violated SPD’s policy on lethal force and recommended a 15-day suspension.
Chief Kathleen O’Toole overturned the discipline.
2015: Wrecked bar bathroom in violent brawl
Belgarde was drinking at a bar called Moon Dogs Too in Port Orchard with a friend when they got into a fight with a man over a fender bender the night before.
A witness said Belgarde blocked the man from exiting the bathroom. Then, Belgarde’s friend ran up and punched him in the face.
No third-party witnesses saw what happened inside, but the man was left bleeding from his face, and the bathroom sink was ripped out of the wall.
Belgarde and his friend fled the scene in separate cars, but local police caught up with his friend up the road, arresting him for the fight and several open warrants.
His friend gave him up. A Port Orchard police officer contacted Belgarde at around 3 am to get a statement and ask him to come into the station.
Belgarde got belligerent when asked if he was a police officer and told him, “The last time I saw a Port Orchard cop, he was accused of rape.”
When Belgarde came to the station, officers observed that his knuckles were red. They cited him for misdemeanor assault and released him.
The prosecutor dismissed the case in exchange for victim’s compensation.
The OPA didn’t finish its investigation until 2022. It could not issue discipline due to deadlines in the police guild contract.
2020: DUI after all-day drinking binge
In January 2020, Belgarde ran a red light in Federal Way “at a high rate of speed” and was pulled over.
According to the police report, Belgarde did not stop initially. He drove faster, reaching up to 50 mph.
When he finally stopped, the officer noticed signs of impairment.
Belgarde refused field and breathalyzer tests and was arrested.
At the station, he declined a blood draw, which means an automatic license suspension.
He told the officer that he had been drinking beers since noon. Belgarde was also taking prescription medications, including Oxycodone.
This incident was not reported to the OPA until 2024, so Belgarde could not be disciplined for it.
2024: Pulled over a Metro bus after cutting it off
While driving an unmarked car, Belgarde cut off a KC Metro bus. The driver responded by honking his horn.
Belgarde activated his lights and stopped the bus, then argued with and threatened to arrest the driver in front of a busload of people.
A user on TikTok captured the confrontation on video.
When asked why he stopped the bus, Belgarde said it was “road rage” (not a crime). Also, detectives aren’t allowed to conduct traffic stops in unmarked vehicles.
Belgarde was reprimanded for unprofessionalism.