Cop faked conversation with witness to cover for reckless driving

When a man asked Tanner Jay why he was driving so fast, Jay said he was chasing "somebody with a gun," but no 911 callers saw a weapon.

Officer Tanner Jay was reprimanded for driving more than twice the speed limit without emergency equipment and being rude to a man who asked him to slow down, according to a recently released disciplinary report. The Office of Police Accountability also found evidence that Jay may have lied about his reasons for speeding— even going so far as to stage a false conversation with a witness to back it up—but the guild contract prevented the agency from sustaining dishonesty allegations.

On the evening of July 20, 2024, 911 dispatched Jay to investigate reported houseboat burglaries in Eastlake. After Jay spoke with a witness by cellphone, he tore through downtown at 68 mph on Westlake Avenue, where the speed limit is 25 mph. The OPA reports that his sirens and lights were never on, and he tailgated cars until they let him pass.

For the rest of his response, Jay only intermittently turned on his lights, chirped his sirens while passing through red lights, and crossed into oncoming traffic to pass other vehicles. The OPA notes that on dark, narrow residential streets with 20 mph speed limits, Jay drove up to 45 mph without sirens or lights.

A man, the complainant in this case, waved Jay down while he was passing through a residential street to tell him he was going “pretty fast for the neighborhood.” Irritated, Jay said, “Do you know where I’m going? Somebody with a gun. So, I should probably go there pretty quick, yeah? OK, fantastic.” When the man suggested Jay turn his emergency equipment on, he closed his door and drove off.

In-car video of Officer Tanner Jay. The person highlighted by the red dot is the complainant, who flagged Jay down to ask him to slow down and use his lights and sirens.

Shortly before arriving on the scene, Jay stopped to call the first witness on his cell phone. His bodyworn camera clearly captured the sound of the witness’ voice, and most of his words were discernible.

However, in the last 20 seconds of the call, the witness’ voice can no longer be heard. Jay continues talking as if he’s confirming details about the suspect being armed: “Wha, oh…yes. Yeah, and you said you seen the firearm? Yeah, on his…hip. OK. OK, buh-bye.”

A transcription of Tanner Jay (NE#1) speaking to a witness via cell phone. At the end of the bodyworn video audio, the call winds down, and Jay says goodbye but continues talking as if he’s confirming things the witness is saying. The witness is no longer audible.

Immediately after, Jay sent the following message: “RP said he saw a firearm on his hip btw.” In his interview with OPA investigators, the witness denied telling 911 dispatchers or any police officers that he saw a weapon.

The OPA found Jay acted unprofessionally, citing his “condescending, dismissive, and sarcastic” tone and words when he was talking to the man who asked him to drive slower and use his sirens. The agency also found that his driving was unnecessarily risky, given that the call was priority 2, it was 1.6 miles away, and Jay didn’t start driving until 25 minutes after talking to the witness the first time.

Despite relatively strong evidence that Jay lied to the complainant and investigators, the OPA did not sustain dishonesty findings. There were several contradictions in his story. He claimed he was rushing to the scene because he recognized a suspect in the photos the witness sent him and that he knew the suspect habitually carried a firearm.

But, the pictures didn’t offer a clear view of the suspect’s face, he did not notify other officers of a potential weapon at the time and did not respond for 25 minutes.

Pictures of the houseboat burglary suspect that were available to Ofc. Tanner Jay at the time of the incident. OPA argued he had no more than a reasonable suspicion that he was responding to an armed suspect.

OPA also pointed out how Jay stopped on the way to an ostensible emergency to call the witness again to confirm information he already had and continued to talk after the witness had apparently hung up, pretending to repeat information about the gun that the witness denied telling him.

The Seattle Police Officers Guild collective bargaining agreement sets a higher standard of proof — “more than a preponderance of the evidence” — for potentially career-ending allegations like bias, dishonesty, and criminal behavior that could lead to termination and decertification. The OPA claimed it could not meet that “elevated burden of proof.”

Tanner Jay was hired in 2019 and has been investigated by OPA seven times, with two ongoing. In 2023, he was paid $107,689 and an additional $37,493 in overtime.