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Derailed a sexual assault investigation against the King County Sheriff
Couet and another officer responded to a 911 call of a woman claiming that King County Sheriff John Urquhart sexually assaulted her 14 years earlier.
Though the alleged victim offered evidence and named several witnesses, Couet decided to focus on her mental state instead of her assault claims.
When he filed the report, Couet did not label it a “sexual assault.” Instead, cleared it as a “crisis intervention” and described her as “delusional.”
Because Couet misrepresented the case, it was not routed to the sexual assault unit until later.
OPA found that Couet abused his discretion and failed to file the report properly
Couet was issued a written reprimand and given additional training.
Participated in a sergeant’s attempt at retaliation and didn’t report him
Couet’s Sergeant, Frank Poblocki, had a man’s car towed, and the man called him a “bitch.” Poblocki located the man’s workplace and planned to go there later to demand an apology.
Poblocki instructed Couet and other officers to stage near the AutoZone where the man worked while he confronted the man, apparently expecting the encounter would escalate to violence.
Poblocki eventually left after talking to several people who advised him to stop what he was doing.
All officers involved were accused of failing to report Poblocki’s misconduct and lying to investigators about knowing his true intentions.
They were given training referrals.
Mismanaged a call that ended in a woman tasered
Couet responded as a sergeant to a call about a woman in crisis throwing flaming objects off her apartment balcony.
The woman retreated into her bathroom when the officers arrived. They entered her apartment under “community caretaking” authority to determine whether there was a fire.
After they verified that there was no fire, the constitutional authority to be inside the apartment arguably ended.
The woman threw a mirror out of the bathroom and slapped at the door with a belt. Officer Al-Hanaya Tasered the woman when she appeared at the door.
The OPA found that the best course of action would’ve been to order the officers out of the department and to negotiate with and observe the woman from the apartment’s front door.
Though he did not completely “abdicate” supervisory responsibility, Couet’s scene management “fell below standards,” the OPA argued.
He did not assign roles to the 13 officers in the hallway, and instead of delegating the task, he left to retrieve a ballistic shield, so he was absent when force was used. Couet was issued an oral reprimand.
Defied orders and escalated a situation in Cal Anderson Park
During a Black Lives Matter protest in Capitol Hill, Couet attempted to arrest someone for allegedly committing property damage.
Though Couet’s supervisor instructed officers not to enter the park alone, he disobeyed orders and tried to arrest the man by himself. The crowd surrounded Couet and attempted to prevent the arrest.
Couet pepper-sprayed three of the people who were standing or kneeling around him.
He was accused of excessive force and failure to de-escalate. The OPA sustained neither allegation but gave him a training referral for poor decision-making.
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