Edmonds Police Chief on Officer's Alleged Sexual Misconduct: Let the System Work

Edmonds Police Chief Al Compaan says he understand that residents may be angry and upset after the on suspicion of having sex with a woman he had detained.

“Obviously, if the allegation is true it’s disappointing, distressing, frustrating,” Compaan told Edmonds Patch. “I mean, there’s all kinds of words that one could use to describe it. But at this point, and I’m not minimizing in any way the seriousness of the allegation, there’s not yet a criminal charge filed yet.”

Lavely, a 7½-year employee of the department assigned to the patrol division, was arrested by Everett Police last Thursday and booked at the Snohomish County Jail in Everett. He posted $10,000 bail shortly after 6:30 p.m. that night, according to jail records.

On May 9, Edmonds Police Department received , says Sgt.  Mike Blackburn. While on uniformed patrol duty on May 7, the employee reportedly had sexual intercourse with a 28-year-old Seattle woman who was in his temporary custody.

The case had been under investigation for a month. On May 9, Compaan said, Edmonds police received a call from Mountlake Terrace police. A 28-year-old Seattle woman reported that in the early hours of May 7, Lavely had sex with her while she was in his custody outside Burlington Coat Factory on Highway 99 in Edmonds.

After an initial report from Edmonds police Sgt. Don Anderson, Compaan decided to have an outside agency, in this case the Everett police, conduct an investigation.

“That is what we do in cases where there’s a serious allegation made,” said Compaan, “especially those that involve potentially criminal conduct. We want a detached party.”

After viewing a probable cause report compiled by Everett police Detective Karen Kowalchyk and hearing from the Snohomish County prosecuting attorney’s office, Compaan said he believes charges will be brought against Lavely. “It’s just going to have to play out from there.”

Both the Edmonds and Everett police departments sent out news releases about Lavely’s arrest shortly after he was taken to jail.

“I want to be as open and forthright as we can with this,” said Compaan. “The news release wasn’t something I enjoyed doing, especially with a serious allegation like this. At the same time, our citizens expect honesty and accountability. And that’s what we’re trying to do here. They hold us to a higher standard than the general population. Taxpayers pay our salary, so we have to be as honest about these things, as unpleasant as they may be.”

Lavely, who lives in Edmonds, remains on paid administrative leave.

“We have a basic presumption of innocence in our criminal justice system,” Compaan said. “Not only do we have in this case the criminal justice process at play, but we will also have our own administrative, internal investigation process in play at the appropriate juncture.”