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Threatened to smash a car window and pull a woman out by her hair
Bonesteel and another officer responded to a call about two people illegally parked in a bus lane.
The officers got their information and discovered that the passenger had an open misdemeanor warrant in Marysville.
Bonesteel told the passenger to open the window, and she said the car battery was dead, so she couldn’t roll it down. He told her to get out of the car, and she asked why.
Visibly angry, Bonesteel replied that she could get out or “we can talk like this through your fucking warrant, and I’m going to break the window and pull you out by your hair.”
After she complied, he continued to berate her, telling her that she was “being difficult” and to “do as you’re told.”
The OPA argued that Bonesteel responded unprofessionally by threatening and swearing at someone who was “neither escalated nor noncompliant.”
When she politely asked a question, Bonesteel escalated and responded with hostility. He was given a written reprimand.
Got drunk on a date and refused to leave the woman’s house until the police were called
Bonesteel went out on a date with a woman who lived in Edmonds.
Afterward, he was extremely intoxicated and would not leave her property, so she called 911.
Edmonds police arrived and drove Bonesteel to his car, but they determined Bonesteel was too drunk to drive.
Bonesteel argued with them. Officers described him as “verbally abusive” and insulting.
Bonesteel eventually called the woman, and she picked him up.
The Office of Police Accountability sustained unprofessionalism allegations against Bonesteel.
Even though the incident occurred off-duty, the OPA argued that officers are always in the public eye and were held to a “higher standard.”
Had a DV disturbance with his girlfriend at Northgate Mall
A woman called under the assumed name “Sandra” and reported that Bonesteel was her husband.
Sandra said that he was violent with her at home. She claimed he threw things and pushed her. She called back and recanted her statement.
Internal investigators traced the number to a woman with a different name, whom Bonesteel identified as his ex-girlfriend.
The name also appeared in a domestic violence disturbance incident in the parking lot of Northgate Mall.
Bonesteel and the woman were having such a loud and intense argument that the Seattle police were called.
The Office of Police Accountability closed the case as a “supervisor action.
Made his girlfriend so fearful for her life that her friend called the police
Bonesteel and his girlfriend had a heated dispute inside her home in front of the woman’s child.
She became frightened, so she moved the child out of the room and texted her friend
During the argument, Bonesteel grabbed her by the arm and dragged her from the room.
Her friend called the Renton police, who arrived and could not find any physical marks on the woman
The Office of Police Accountability did not sustain findings that Bonesteel had violated any laws or policies.
Failed to de-escalate a contact with a man asleep in his car and punched him multiple times in the face
Bonesteel and another officer found a person passed out behind the wheel of his running car.
He approached the driver’s window and ordered him out. When Bonesteel yelled at the man, he was startled awake and revved the engine.
Bonesteel punched him three times through the open window.
The OPA found that the force was proportionate but argued that the officers should’ve attempted to contact the man through the PA first.
They were given training referrals.
Taunted an Asian protester and asked if she was “born here”
During the 2020 protests, Bonesteel and another officer kettled a group of protesters and arrested them for alleged property destruction.
When someone challenged his probable cause, he told them to “shut up”
While they were cuffing a woman, Bonesteel told her, “You guys are committing property destruction in my city.” She replied, “It’s my city, too.” He said: “Were you born here?”
The woman, who was Asian, interpreted this as a “perpetual foreigner” stereotype.
He repeatedly told her things like “no one cares” and “shut up.” He taunted her, saying, “Your friends are losing.”
Bonesteel said his “born here” comments weren’t based on race.
The OPA gave Bonesteel a training referral for unprofessional comments.
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