No discipline for detective arrested for DUI
For a second time, the SPOG contract prevented discipline against a detective who violated the law while drunk
A Seattle police detective will face no discipline for a 2020 DUI arrest, according to the Office of Police Accountability records. Anthony Belgarde is the same detective under investigation for stopping a King County Metro bus in March.
On Jan. 5, 2020, near midnight, Belgarde ran a red light “at a high rate of speed” in front of a Federal Way police officer, according to the officer’s report. He attempted to stop Belgarde with lights and sirens, but Belgarde began to drive away faster, reaching speeds of at least 50 mph. The officer noted in his report that they believed Belgarde was attempting to flee. Belgarde stopped about a quarter mile away from where the pursuit started.
The officer observed Belgarde’s eyes were “bloodshot, watery and droopy” and he was slurring his words. After refusing a field sobriety test, Belgarde was arrested for DUI and taken to the Federal Way police building. On the DUI arrest report, he stated that he had started drinking at noon the previous day—nearly 12 hours before his arrest. He had taken two Oxycodone around the same time. Belgarde also claimed that he had been hit in the head before being arrested.
While he initially consented to a breathalyzer test, Belgarde declined to blow into the machine and stated he did not want to provide the sample anymore and would “take the suspended license.” He was later released to his wife.
The OPA could not sustain any allegations against Belgarde because the four-year deadline for discipline established in the police guild contract had passed.
This isn’t the first incident when Belgarde has broken the law while intoxicated. In 2015, Belgarde was drinking with a friend at a dive bar called Moon Dogs Too, where they assaulted another man in the bathroom. Belgarde blocked the victim from leaving the bathroom while his friend ran up and punched the victim in the face. The rest happened inside the bathroom, out of view of the witness, leaving the victim with a bloodied face and a sink ripped from the wall.
He eventually turned himself in after fleeing from the bar. He was cited for a 4th-degree assault and released. During the intake, it was reported he smelled of booze.
Belgarde did not face disciplinary action for this incident. OPA stated it would have sustained findings against Belgarde, but the disciplinary deadline also passed.
Belgarde has been on the force since 2001. In 2023, he was paid $100,250 and another $29,613 in overtime.
I have a federal lawsuit against Det. Belgarde and a bunch of other SPD officers. WAWD No. 2:24-cv-00808-JHC; Dkt. #63-1. If you wish to contact me for more information, my cell is (425) 553-8112 and email is kurtbenshoof@gmail.com. They sent 35 SWAT and a helicopter to my house on a fraudulent warrant. SPD are quite literally assisting perjuring prostitutes in the kidnapping of my son.