Top SPOG back pay recipients include sleeping sergeant, duty shirkers

Officers fired for racism or criminal behavior will also get back pay for years spent on paid leave

Under the SPOG tentative agreement, Seattle police officers are expected to receive around $60 million in retroactive pay for the last three years. The biggest paydays will go to a sergeant who slept on duty and two officers who blew off calls about violent crimes in progress.

Sgt. Paige Maks will take home nearly $161,000. The department’s highest-paid employee, Maks made $418,000 last year and $390,000 in 2022, when she was photographed sleeping in her cruiser on 3rd Ave. Ofc. Jason Atofau comes in close second with $144,000 estimated back pay. Atofau was one of three officers who took 23 minutes to respond to a call about a shooting where someone was injured.

Ofc Ron Willis, who will get $131,000 in back pay, was previously suspended for violating overtime rules. He clocked implausible 140-hour weeks and worked more than 24 hours on several days in 2019. Recently, Willis was suspended for ignoring a call about a DV in progress to do paperwork at the end of his shift.

Some other officers with long rap sheets at the top of the seniority ladder will also get six-figure payouts under the agreement. Ofc. Zsolt Dornay will pocket $102,000. Dornay shot a lawyer off-duty, did donuts in his neighbor’s yard, was arrested for DUI, and was investigated or sued multiple times for police brutality. Ofc. Autumn Arbogast, who was suspended for throwing away her gun, will get $103,0000. Arbogast also flubbed a hate crime investigation and mishandled a sexual assault case.

Officers fired for criminal behavior or bias will get tens of thousands for hours spent on extended leave. Ofc. Andrew Swartz was placed on leave in Sept 2021 when SPD learned of allegations that he was stalking his girlfriend. He will get more than $45,000 for two years that he didn’t work. Ofc. Rosa Ojeda-Lopez also spent two years on leave while awaiting an investigation into a DV assault. She will receive $12,000 in back pay. Burton Hill, who likely be terminated for using racist and sexist slurs, is expected to take home an extra $65,000.

The Seattle City Council will meet at 2 p.m. today to vote on the SPOG contract. You can sign up for public comment here. To browse SPD salaries and estimated back pay. check out TechBloc’s tool.