It's a case that combines elements of multiple criminal charges and also features the police code of silence and an officer's allegations of departmental retaliation against him for what he says is nothing more than his reporting of the truth.

It started on August 3, 2008, when James A. King, a King County sheriff's deputy, responded along with other deputies to a domestic violence call at a South King County apartment. The deputies quickly determined that the accused was innocent and released him from a patrol car.

Immediately upon release, he complained that an officer - not King - had assaulted him by punching him in the mouth when he was in the car. King had not witnessed the alleged incident, but saw blood coming from the man's mouth and also claimed that the accused deputy made personally incriminating comments to him that supported the man's allegations.

King reported those comments, both in writing and orally at the deputy's subsequent trial, and says he was "criticized and ostracized by fellow officers and supervisors" for doing so. The deputy was found not guilty by a King County jury, but fired by the Sheriff's Office after an internal investigation.

King says that the treatment he received at work following his report caused him to suffer emotional distress and even have suicidal thoughts. "I had basically a nervous breakdown," he told a reporter recently. King left his job, taking medical leave in May 2009, and eventually won disability benefits from the state. King County is contesting that award.

King has now brought a $2 million lawsuit against King County that alleges retaliation by his co-workers for his reporting of the incident. The suit claims harassment so severe that it psychologically harmed him to the point that he could no longer work effectively as a police officer.
 
Related Resource: www.seattletimes.nwsource.com "Ex-deputy files $2 million claim against King County, alleging retaliation" August 4, 2010