David Blackmer – the former
Seattle cop who cyberstalked his
mistress – collected more than $83,000 in a taxpayer-funded salary in the
months after his arrest, records obtained by KIRO 7 show.
That 10-month period includes the time when
Blackmer sat in jail, convicted of a gross misdemeanor. He was sentenced to 90
days.
It was late July 2013 when investigators
arrested Blackmer, saying he cyberstalked a woman by creating a Facebook
account.
Blackmer posted photos of himself having sex
with the woman – not his wife, but the one who came to came to his house to
confront him. The woman told police that she thought Blackmer was following
through with verbal threats that he would get back at her and “ruin her life.”
Blackmer pleaded guilty to felony
cyberstalking on Dec. 17 and the following month he was sentenced to 90 days in
jail. He did not lose his right to carry a gun.
In February – a month Blackmer spent in jail –
he was paid $7,817, records obtained by KIRO 7 show. Every month until May,
Blackmer was paid at least $8,000, according to those records, which were
obtained through a public document request.
In the 10 months from Blackmer’s arrest to
when he was fired from the Seattle Police Department, he collected $83,344.27,
records obtained by KIRO 7 show.
That’s at least $30,000 more than the median
Seattle household income, according to the most recent data available on the
city’s website.
And Blackmer wants his job back.
The Seattle Police Department put Blackmer on
paid administrative leave while the Office of Professional Accountability
investigated his case. By policy, the OPA investigation started after the criminal
investigation was completed.
Blackmer was fired May 5. But Blackmer has
said the firing violated his union contract that requires OPA to complete its
investigation within 180 days and he’s suing the department.
In other words, because the city didn’t fire
him soon enough Blackmer could get his job back.
Blackmer did not return multiple calls from
KIRO 7.
Police Officers Guild president Ron Smith said
Blackmer is right about the timeline and the guild will represent him in
arbitration.
Contacted Monday to ask about Blackmer’s
$83,000 salary and the potential for him to be re-hired as an officer,
spokesman Sgt. Sean Whitcomb said he had “no official response because this is
still an active personnel matter.”
