A Seattle police officer has been suspended for six days after reportedly telling a lie which caused a man to kill himself.

According to the Washington Post, the incident began in 2018 when two police officers went to the home of a woman who allowed a suspected hit-and-run driver to use her address to register his car. When the woman answered the door and said the suspect isn't home, one of the officers told her that a person has nearly died after the accident.

“It’s a lie, but it’s fun,” the officer reportedly told his partner before visiting the home.

The man killed himself a week after the woman called him and told him what the police said.

According to The Seattle Times, a police watchdog group conducted an investigation and concluded that the officer’s lie “shocked the conscience” of the man and contributed to his death. The officer hasn't been named, but he has been suspended for six days, The Times reported. The watchdog's report revealed that the two officers weren't involved in investigating the accident and no one was injured in the collision.

"On May 28, 2018, East Precinct officers investigated a hit and run collision," the Police Department’s Office of Police Accountability stated. "The hit and run involved damage to several vehicles; however, those vehicles were still drivable. No injuries were suffered by any of the occupants of the vehicles that were struck."

The OPA said the woman was “clearly emotionally affected” by the news when the police approached her. The driver had been addicted to heroin for almost 20 years and had previous legal issues, the OPA's report revealed. Although he wasn't initially worried when the woman told him the news, he became increasingly worried in the following days, the report stated.

When he searched for a fatal hit-and-run report in the area, the man didn't find any results, so he assumed the police might still be withholding the information, according to the investigation.

The driver's anxiety grew when a friend reportedly told him about the possibility of going to jail for a long time. According to the report, the man left some items and money on a shelf in his friend’s garage with a note that read, “If you don’t see me, keep this stuff.”

The report adds that the man asked his roommate if it was normal to think about suicide, and the roommate said it was. The man was found dead in his room the next day.

Andrew Myerberg, the OPA’s director, said the officer violated the department standards regarding professionalism and discretion and “shocked the conscience.” Police Chief Carmen Best also released a statement condemning the officer's action.

“The officer’s actions did not meet SPD’s standards of acceptable use of discretion and were not consistent with the standards of professionalism or training,” Best said.

Seattle-Police

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