Sll;"fi""J'jf,** February 3,2020 Director Andrew Myerberg Office of Police Accountability 720 3'o avenue, 1 8th Floor Seattle, Washington 98124 SENT VIA EMAIL Dear Director Myerberg, As we discussed, I am writing to ref er to OPA, for f urther investigation, the matter concerning what have been deemed "credible allegations" of sexual assault against SPD employee Garry Boulden, stemming f rom his tenure as a priest with the Roman Cathotic Diocese of Spokane in the tate 197Os-early 1980s. While the acts alleged, having reportedly taken place in Spokane, are for that reason outside of our jurisdiction to investigate criminally, they are welIwithin your purview for an administrative inquiry. that these allegations were investigated by the Spokane Police Department in the early 2000s, and that no criminal charges resulted. I am also aware that these allegations were among those I am aware that were included in a sweeping settlement of numerous civil lawsuits that were brought against the Spokane Diocese, arising out of a decades-long pattern of sexual abuse, that ultimately led to the Diocese's bankruptcy. I am aware of these resolutions because this is not the f irst time these altegations have come to the attention of the Seattte Police Department. This has been of intermittent but on-going (and understandabte) media interest since the earty 2000s, and SPD has previously undertaken its own review of avaitabte materials, inctuding the Spokane potice Department's investigative file. lt is my understanding that our investigators agreed that, based on the facts that were available to them at that time, there was insufficient legal cause to support criminal - a determination that I understand was, at the time, weighed in evaluating Mr. Boulden's continuing employment with SPD. charges However, neither I nor anyone on my leadership team were part of that review, and we are therefore unable to assess for ourselves the rigor of that review, and - particularly with the tremendous leaps forward over the past severaI years in how we respond to and investigate attegations of sexuaI assault and how we care for and honor victims - I cannot rest on that prior review alone. 610 Fifth Avenue I PO Box 34986 Seattle, WA 98124-4986 206-684-5485 seattle.gov/police want to be clear that, as it relates to his conduct as a member of this department, I am aware of no concerns regarding his interactions with individuals he has served. To the contrary, as evidenced by a I him just recently, he has delivered support to victims of crlme compassionately and, as far as has been brought to my attention, fulty within professional bounds. service award presented to That said, I believe we have a moral and professionaI obligation to revisit these allegations, leveraging that law enforcement has made in its efforts to get to the truth, often buried, of past wrongs. As always, we willgo where the truth takes us. alt of the advancements Sincerely rl \:ClA*v