Seattle police officer Stephen Englund was suspended 15 days for an unauthorized pursuit through an occupied park in Des Moines last year, according to a report released last Friday. The Office of Police Accountability found Englund committed insubordination, ignored risks to bystanders, and violated rules on questioning juvenile suspects.
On Dec. 29, 2023, Englund and his partner, Eric Munoz, were dispatched to an armed carjacking. When they arrived, the car was long gone, but it was equipped with OnStar, which enabled the vehicle to be tracked and disabled remotely. With help from the company, the officers tracked the car to Des Moines, but OnStar would not shut it down unless an officer had eyes on the vehicle.
Sgt. John Marion gave Munoz and Englund his blessing to leave the city and help local police stop the carjacker. However, the officers were ordered not to pursue or use force. Marion told them to let Des Moines police take the lead on tactics and to shut down the vehicle with OnStar immediately.
The officers tracked the vehicle down to Des Moines Marina Park. The two formed a “hasty plan.” Munoz said, “If we see them, fucking light them up, head on, and we will go guns out on them.”
Upon seeing the stolen car, Munoz jumped out, drew his gun, and began yelling for the driver to stop. The carjacker quickly reversed and fled toward the park full of patrons, including a couple shooting their wedding photos. Englund began pursuing, leaving Munoz behind on foot without cover or backing officers.
Englund chased the carjacker off the road and through the park’s rain-soaked grass, eventually ending on a pedestrian bridge. With little room to maneuver, the car tipped over the edge of a bridge. Englund obliterated a park bench before striking the car hard enough to trade paint with it and knock it into the creek.
The suspect tried to escape by foot and was eventually apprehended. A juvenile woman was in the car at the time of the crash and was helped out by other responders.
Englund continued his defiance of policy when he began questioning the juvenile without reading her Miranda Rights or Juvenile Rights. He did not believe her when she gave her birthday and continued to question her despite failing to advise her of her rights. An audit by the Office of the Inspector General found Seattle police only followed this policy 4 percent of the time.
In the aftermath, Sgt. Marion arrived to debrief with the officers. Marion berated Englund for not following any of his orders. During this conversation, Englund says that he asked OnStar to shut down the vehicle. The follow-up investigation found that Englund never asked OnStar to shut the vehicle down despite being directly ordered.
The OPA did not sustain dishonesty findings for this or other false statements Englund wrote in his reports, including his claims that he Mirandized the suspects and did not strike the vehicle.
Despite failing across the board to follow orders, Sgt. Marion still commended Englund on the chase through a crowded park as “good police work.” Marion also has an extensive disciplinary history that includes a reprimand for driving 106 mph with no lights and threatening a reporter.
Stephen Englund has a long history of policy violations and numerous investigations into his conduct. OPA investigators made a lengthy note about Englund and his failure to improve over time. It calls into question why remedial training has never been issued to Englund despite being recommended. Here is a small excerpt:
Englund has been counseled by his superiors on several of these matters, there is no record of him having undergone any in-depth practical remedial training. Instead, he has been issued awards for his actions in spite of the several internal complaints…
Stephen Englund was hired in 2019 and has had over 23 complaints since then. This is his second suspension and fifth sustained complaint. Englund was previously suspended for pushing a woman in crisis to the ground who was complying with his orders to put away her knife. In 2023, he made $154,406, including $45,044 in overtime. He will receive $59,000 in back pay under the current contract.
He is also ass ugly, he’s short with like just a few bits of hair clinging to the top of his head