Perennial problem cop reprimanded for slashing tires
Perennial problem cop reprimanded for slashing tires
Seattle police chief once again goes easy on Ofc. Stephen Englund, who averages around seven complaints annually
Seattle police officer Stephen Englund was reprimanded for slashing the tires of a stopped F150 last year, according to a report released last Friday. The Office of Police Accountability found that Englund abused his discretion and used an unauthorized tactic to immobilize the vehicle. OPA is currently investigating officers for using the same tactic to disable a minivan at a recent Palestine solidarity demo.
On May 19, 2023, Englund and another unnamed officer responded to a stopped F150 in a travel lane. Several calls alerted the officers that the driver was unresponsive after other drivers attempted to knock on the window and wake him.
Dispatch also alerted officers responding that the F150 was stolen. SPD policy treats stolen vehicles as a “high-risk stop,” meaning officers are to approach with their guns drawn. Upon arrival, Englund positioned his cruiser “nose to nose” with the truck to prevent it from driving off. He immediately rushed out and slashed all four tires.
None of the officers attempted to contact the driver before Englund slashed his tires. Englund and two officers gathered another officer’s cruiser and attempted to contact the driver with their PA system. The driver did not respond
While a sergeant was debriefing Englund, he asked what Englund used to slash the tires. “Uhhh, little knifey knife,” he responded. The sergeant replied, “Nice.”
Englund grabbed a window-breaking tool and had another officer draw his gun to cover his approach to the unconscious driver. After striking the window several times, Englund was unable to shatter the window completely. He pried the rest of the window open, drew his gun, and screamed at the driver to put his hands up. Eventually, Englund made enough space to reach into the F150 to open the door from the inside and ripped the driver out onto the ground.
Untrained tactic
Englund trained at the Basic Law Enforcement Academy for high-risk stops. OPA cited an email from BLEA stating that none of the academy’s high-risk vehicle tactics include “rushing up on cars, deflating tires without department-approved tire deflation devices, or physically removing drivers from vehicles.”
Though he and another officer had boxed the vehicle in, Englund claimed he “didn’t have any other means to restrict the vehicle’s ability to effectively leave.” While a sergeant was debriefing Englund, he asked what Englund used to slash the tires. “Uhhh, little knifey knife,” he responded. The sergeant replied, “Nice.”
OPA recommended up to a one-day suspension for Englund for using unreasonable discretion when he slashed the tires. SPD Chief Adrian Diaz opted for a written reprimand instead. Englund was previously reprimanded for misusing his discretion during the 2020 protests when he decided to chase a protester for tearing down police tape, and they fell, injuring themselves.
OPA argued that while Englund technically had a pretext to arrest the protester, he showed poor judgment and created unnecessary risk over a trivial offense.
Long rap sheet
Englund has received an extraordinary number of complaints in his short career. Since 2020, his first year as a fully trained officer, Englund has racked up 23 OPA complaints, making him part of an exclusive club. According to the most recent OPA report, only 2 percent of officers received more than four complaints in 2022. Englund was among them.
He has already racked up three OPA complaints in 2024. Previously, Englund received four training referrals, three reprimands, and one suspension. Englund was suspended for shoving a homeless woman over without any warning and failing to report his use of force to his supervisors. More recently, he was given a training referral for tackling a surrendering suspect.
Stephen Englund was hired in 2019 and made $136,104 in 2022, $31,555 in overtime.