Bad Apple Baseball Cards: John Marion
Known for his fiery temper and reckless driving, Marion threatened a reporter, slammed a handcuffed prisoner against a wall (allegedly) and did 106 mph on I-5 with no lights or sirens.
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John Marion is a cop with a hot head and a lead foot. With a reputation for driving too fast and losing his cool, Marion is no stranger to the Office of Police Accountability’s interview room — or the headlines. Early in his career, Marion made the news when he threatened a reporter and talked trash to a citizen who complained online that Seattle police were feckless and surly.
Later, he falsified a police report to obscure an injury and taunted a handcuffed prisoner, who claimed Marion slammed his head on the holding cell wall. Marion’s driving has also gotten him in trouble on and off duty. He’s hit 106 mph in his cruiser on I-5, tailgated a couple for no reason, and racked up more than $600 in speeding tickets driving through school zones. SPD apparently thought Marion had the right temperament for middle management, so they made him a sergeant.
2013 Threatened a Journalist for Observing a Stop
Marion and a King County Sheriff’s Office sergeant were questioning a person when The Stranger editor Dominic Holden stopped to take notes and pictures.
The two cops berated Holden and told him to go to the other side of the road. He complied.
When they were done, Holden came back to ask some questions about the stop.
Marion angrily told Holden, “I'll tell you what... I'm going to come to the Stranger, I'm going to bother you at work and see how you like it. How about that? I'm going to come there on my time and bother you at work."
KCSO demoted the sergeant to deputy, and Marion was suspended for one day.
Interim Chief Harry Bailey overturned Marion’s discipline, then reinstated it after public outcry.
2014 Insulted a Community Member on Facebook
After a person made a Facebook post criticizing SPD’s poor response in White Center, Seattle police officers, including Marion, dogpiled the post, leaving nasty comments.
Ofc. Michael Stankiewicz (later fired and charged for defrauding the city) called the man an “Asshat,” while Marion said he was “sad, pathetic, lost, and self righteous all at the same time.”
Though Chief Kathleen O’Toole said she was “disappointed” by the comments, Marion was never investigated or disciplined. It was before the department implemented a social media policy.
2015 Falsified a Report, Omitting an Obvious Injury
While Marion was chasing a man for an outstanding warrant at a train station, a train employee grabbed him and took him to the concrete hard, causing a gash on his head.
The sergeant screening the arrest noticed the injury and asked Marion why it was not documented in his use-of-force report. Marion said he wasn’t aware of the injury.
Marion’s in-car video “clearly proved that [he] had knowledge of a claimed and observable injury to the subject prior to being told by his sergeant”.
However, the OPA inexplicably argued that it could not prove “whether or not the named employee knew, at the time he wrote it, that his statement was false.”
This was unambiguous evidence of dishonesty, the penalty for which under the police guild contract is “presumed termination.”
2017 Allegedly Slammed a Handcuffed Man Against a Wall
While transporting a handcuffed prisoner to the precinct, Marion egged him on, saying, “Are you going to assault me? Are you going to assault me? Get out!”
The man also alleged that Marion slammed his head against the wall and stomped on his heels while placing him in a holding cell. The video was inconclusive.
OPA found that Marion “increased rather than avoided the likelihood that force would be needed”
Marion was suspended for two days, with a disciplinary transfer held in abeyance.
2017 Aggressively Tailgated a Motorist While Not on a Call
A man complained to OPA that Marion “suddenly and aggressively” cut behind him and accelerated to within a foot of his rear bumper.
Then Marion changed lanes, drove up beside him, and stared him down through the driver-side window before speeding off.
GPS established that Marion was in that area and that he was well over the speed limit (62 mph, when the top speed in Seattle was 30 mph), but his in-car video was not activated because he wasn’t on a call.
Marion told OPA that he didn’t recall the incident and that it did not sound like him because he is “typically very cautious” and a slow driver.” (In 2024, Marion racked up $630 in tickets for speeding in a school zone, including one in which he drove nearly double the posted speed limit.)
OPA found that the preponderance of evidence suggested “that this incident occurred as alleged by the Complainant” but argued that somehow a “Sustained finding is unsupported by the evidence.”
Marion was given a training referral.
2023 Drove at 106 mph Without Lights and Sirens
Marion was seen driving 106 mph on I-5 — more than 40 mph over the speed limit — with no lights or sirens activated.
He was not logged in to a call at the time and did not do so until after he exited the highway, traveling at 60 mph.
Marion said he was speeding to a “shots fired” call, but could not explain why he didn’t activate his lights.
He agreed to Rapid Adjudication (equivalent to a plea deal) and was given an oral reprimand.