King County deputy fired for making false 'shots fired' call while drunk off-duty
Deputy Thomas DeBartalo called 911 in retaliation after Rhein Haus kicked him out for allegedly sexually assaulting patrons.
A King County Sheriff’s deputy has been fired for making a false 911 call claiming there was a shooting at Rhein Haus in Seattle, according to a disciplinary report obtained via public record’s request.
On Aug. 19, 2023, Dep. Thomas DeBartolo was drinking at the bar when he called 911 to report that two people had been shot in the bathroom. When Seattle police arrived, DeBartolo approached them and showed his badge. Through slurred speech and bloodshot eyes, DeBartolo told the officers that he had not made the call and that his phone had been stolen.
The bar manager told officers that DeBartolo phoned in the false shooting call in retaliation. He was ejected for being intoxicated and allegedly sexually assaulting women.
After interviewing the bar staff, officers discovered that DeBartolo was lying. The bar manager told officers that DeBartolo phoned in the false shooting call in retaliation. He was ejected for being intoxicated and allegedly sexually assaulting women. DeBartolo also flashed his commission card to intimidate the staff into letting him back in the bar.
Officers watched the bar security footage and saw that DeBartolo had his phone at the time the 911 call was placed. DeBartolo was detained and questioned for over an hour, resulting in his arrest, but they were unable to book him due to the King County Jail’s booking restrictions.
DeBartolo returned to duty the next evening and never self-reported to KCSO. DeBartolo also serves in the military, and the report claims that “it is unclear to this day if he ever informed his military command about this incident.”
In the investigation into the incident, DeBartolo would claim to “not remember much about the evening.” He claimed that he “was more intoxicated than he had ever been… having approximately 10-12 drinks.” DeBartolo gave investigators the numbers of two witnesses he was supposedly with that night, but one denied ever meeting him, and the other did not answer the investigator’s calls.
DeBartolo claimed he did not remember making the calls despite listening to a recording that clearly contained his voice. He eventually admitted to calling 911 because he claimed he had heard someone yell “shots in the bathroom” at the bar.
King County Sheriff’s Office found that DeBartolo lied in his statements to the Seattle police and King County investigators. He also violated policy by being intoxicated and violating the law. According to a note in the findings memo, DeBartolo was hired in 2021 and pulled out of BLEA for remedial training due to “significant concerns” about his “emotional intelligence.”
Sounds like a sad guy, but what I wonder is why people who behave like this are hired to carry a gun and a badge and to have life-and-death authority over the rest of us? Doesn’t it seem like a guy with “low emotional intelligence” should NOT be a cop? FFS