Officer Nicholas Hogan of the Snoqualmie Police Department was hired by Snoqualmie after being fired by the City of Tukwila due several payouts (totaling $425K) which resulted from his violent actions against civilians.
Per the Seattle Times article of October 25, 2015 (http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/eastside/cop-fired-in-tukwila-now-in-trouble-in-snoqualmie/), the police commander of Tukwila questioned why any police department could hire him after these facts, contained in his personnel file, were known.
Now he’s working for the City of Snoqualmie’s police department, specifically to handle the police services North Bend contracted from Snoqualmie.
This is an officer with known history of violence against civilians. This is an officer with a connection to “Straight Edge,” a violent anti-drug movement. This officer collected “trophy” police reports where he was found to have used excessive force.
These are all known facts from his file and from court records.
There is no reason why he should have been hired by the City of Snoqualmie.
While he is on paid leave as Snoqualmie investigates his most recent actions, I’m asking the City of North Bend for three things for the financial and physical protection of its citizens:
- We need a civilian review board in place, immediately, to review the actions of police officers in our town. If Snoqualmie won’t do it, North Bend must.
- We need to have a voice in the oversight of hiring and overseeing police operations for North Bend. If we are not already having regular meetings with the police commander in Snoqualmie, we need to set these up, immediately.
- We need veto power over the officers selected to patrol North Bend.
If you are a resident of Snoqualmie, I urge you to contact your mayor, your city council, and your police department to enquire as to the hiring standards and practices of your city, and I strongly urge you to also set up a civilian review board over your police department.
Don’t wait until you’re liable for a settlement against the city due to the actions of your police department.