A struggle over an armrest and a few choice words led to the suspension of a King County deputy, according to disciplinary documents DivestSPD obtained.
Det. Shawn Peckham was flying home from a police conference in San Diego, and an off-duty flight attendant sat next to him. When another flight attendant asked Peckham to raise his seat, he argued that the seat was already up.
Peckham became irritable and aggressive after that. He began pushing his elbows out, taking up the entire armrest, the off-duty flight attendant said. She put her elbow behind his and explained that the other flight attendant was only doing his job. Peckham then jabbed her with his elbow. She told him, “Don’t be difficult.” He replied, “Don’t be a bitch.”
The pilot ordered him removed. San Diego Harbor Police came and escorted him off the plane. Peckham immediately identified himself as a cop: “I’m LEO [law enforcement officer].” In his report, the police officer noted a strong smell of alcohol on Peckham’s breath.
Peckham was argumentative with the police officers. When the male officer lightly placed his hand on Peckham’s back, he turned and said, “Don’t touch me!” He was particularly hostile to the female corporal, the ranking officer leading the investigation.
He called her a “girl” and insinuated that she was a rookie: “You’re probably pretty new, trying to do things by the book, and like trying to figure it out with what you been given.”
Later, when he was alone with the male officer, Peckham told him that her thinking was too “black and white” and she would never make a good detective. The officer explained that she was already a detective.
Peckham complained that he was being “victimized.” The corporal said, “I get it.” Peckham shot back: “No, you don’t get it. He gets it,” pointing to her male partner.
After they exited the plane and entered the terminal, Peckham continued to argue with the corporal about why he was removed from the plane. He said that the corporal was being “super mean” to him. As the officers attempted to interview him, he repeatedly insisted that they weren’t listening to “his side” of the story.
She told him to “be cool” and not to be a “jerk.” The corporal told him he was making things “considerably worse for himself.” He scoffed and told her, “I’ve said that a hundred times.”
At least three witnesses saw the interaction on the plane, including another King County deputy, and gave statements to the police. They all corroborated the flight attendant’s statement, except for the deputy, who claimed that Peckham said “B” instead of “bitch.”
Peckham wrote off the female witness’s account, claiming that she didn’t like police officers. When the corporal questioned how she knew that he was a police officer before he identified himself, Peckham said, “Well, she doesn’t like white guys.”
He attempted to have the plane grounded to press charges against the flight attendant, but the police eventually convinced both parties to let it go.
In his review of the incident, Peckham’s commander, Captain Tim Meyer, put his thumb on the scale in Peckham’s favor, noting that he was “contrite,” “humble,” and “did not waiver [sic] in taking full responsibility for his conduct.” Meyer added that he knew Peckham “to be professional and one who models the highest standards of conduct.”
Internal affairs detectives did not ask Peckham about his alcohol intake, so Meyer declared that issue to be “undetermined.” Nevertheless, his command found he “diminished respect” for the sheriff’s office, and Chief Cheol Kang recommended a two-day suspension.
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