Bellingham Police sergeant accused of physical, sexual abuse of a woman; placed on leave
A Whatcom County Superior Court commissioner has issued an immediate domestic violence protection order against a Bellingham Police Department sergeant and ordered him to surrender his weapons after a woman came forward alleging he physically and sexually abused her.
Bellingham Police Department Sgt. Joshua Richard McKissick, 44, was ordered Feb. 26 to surrender all firearms and other dangerous weapons and any concealed pistol licenses to the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office.
An emergency domestic violence protection order was also issued the same day, protecting a woman known to McKissick and her two children, according to court records obtained by The Herald.
The Herald does not typically identify victims of domestic or sexual violence.
The temporary orders were issued without notice to McKissick and without a hearing “to avoid serious immediate harm or irreparable injury,” the court documents state.
A full hearing on the woman’s petition for a permanent two-year-long domestic violence protection order protecting her from McKissick is scheduled for Monday afternoon, March 11. The court will decide at that time whether McKissick should receive any evaluations and/or treatment for mental health or chemical dependency issues, the records show.
In granting the request temporarily ordering McKissick to surrender weapons and prohibiting him from having them, the court found that irreparable injury could result if such an order was not issued; that his possession of a firearm or dangerous weapon presented “a serious and imminent threat to public health and safety or the health or safety of any individual”; and that irreparable injury could result if he was allowed to access, obtain or possess firearms or a concealed pistol license, documents state.
The court will decide at Monday’s hearing whether the weapons surrender and prohibition order will become permanent.
Court records show McKissick surrendered seven weapons, including three shotguns, one rifle, two handguns and an M&P15 rifle, on Feb. 27.
The Herald has reached out to McKissick’s attorney, the woman’s attorney and the Bellingham Police Guild for comment.
McKissick has been employed with the Bellingham Police Department since February 2007, according to public records obtained by The Herald.
According to previous posts on Bellingham police’s Facebook page, McKissick was promoted to sergeant in April 2021. A city of Bellingham spokesperson declined to answer repeated requests from The Herald to confirm this information, to provide a general nature or description of McKissick’s job duties while in this rank and his current pay.
McKissick was a member of Bellingham police’s SWAT team in October 2015, according to Herald archives. It is unclear at this time if he is still a member of the team.
The city spokesperson declined to answer The Herald’s repeated questions regarding whether McKissick was still a member of the department’s SWAT team.
In a fall 2019 edition of a city of Bellingham newsletter, it was stated that McKissick became a neighborhood officer in 2019. He was responsible for 13 neighborhoods north of Whatcom Creek, according to the newsletter.
McKissick also provided a wide variety of safety-related training on various topics, such as de-escalation, active shooter response and workplace and personal safety training. He also did work with the then-mayor’s neighborhood advisory commission, according to the newsletter.
Department response
The Bellingham Police Department became aware Dec. 6 of a report made to another law enforcement agency alleging McKissick had perpetrated domestic and sexual violence against a woman known to him, according to Melissa Morin, assistant director of communications for the city of Bellingham.
Bellingham Police Chief Rebecca Mertzig removed McKissick from patrol duties and placed him on administrative desk duty. An internal administrative investigation into the allegations was also started at this time, Morin told The Herald in an email.
Mertzig then placed McKissick on paid administrative leave, in accordance with department policy, on Feb. 27 following the court-ordered weapons surrender and temporary domestic violence protection order, Morin said.
McKissick will be on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the internal administrative investigation, Morin said.
“BPD takes all allegations of domestic violence seriously,” Morin told The Herald.
The city declined to answer The Herald’s repeated questions regarding the case, including why McKissick was initially placed on desk duty rather than administrative leave after domestic violence allegations were made against him.
“To preserve our neutrality concerning the ongoing investigations and respect the right to due process, our initial response is all that we can provide at this time,” Morin said in response to follow-up questions from The Herald.
The Lynden Police Department is currently conducting a criminal investigation into the allegations against McKissick.
Lynden Police Chief Steve Taylor told The Herald that Lynden police were asked sometime during the week of Feb. 26 to “look into the possibility of criminal wrongdoing” based on new information that surfaced during the internal affairs investigation.
“Upon completion of our investigation, we will consult with the Whatcom County Prosecutor’s Office for determination of what (if any) criminal charges will be filed,” Taylor said. “Past this, I will not comment further on anything related to the specifics of the case as the investigation is ongoing.”
The Everett Police Department was asked to conduct the internal administrative investigation into the allegations against McKissick.
The administrative investigation has been placed on hold until after the criminal investigation has been completed by Lynden police, Everett Police Department Deputy Chief Jeraud Irving told The Herald.
Irving declined to answer The Herald’s follow-up questions regarding the date Everett police started its administrative investigation or to provide additional comment at this time, due to the ongoing criminal investigation.
Everett police is handling the administrative investigation on Bellingham police’s behalf to avoid any appearance of bias, Morin, with the city of Bellingham, told The Herald.
In seeking the domestic violence protection order, the woman told the court that she was “extremely concerned” that McKissick would hurt himself, her or others if she did not receive immediate protection.
“I am concerned that without support, (McKissick) is a danger to himself and others,” the court documents state.
The woman said McKissick told her “that he has been envious of crime scene victims who have died because they are at peace,” court documents state.
McKissick reportedly has access to more than 10 firearms and explosives, and is alleged to not keep his firearms locked, the records state.
The woman said McKissick subjected her to a “significant amount” of emotional abuse in 2022. McKissick was allegedly struggling with his mental health and alcohol abuse during this time, court documents state. The woman told the court that McKissick would drink to excess in an attempt to cope with his mental health struggles.
Moving forward
The allegations against McKissick come at a time when the Bellingham Police Department is working on repairing its reputation and moving forward following the previous firings and convictions of three officers accused of assaultive behaviors.
In fall 2016, Bellingham police officer Jacob Esparza was fired after he was arrested on domestic violence charges. He was already on the brink of losing his job before that, The Herald previously reported.
Esparza pleaded guilty June 2017 to one count of harassment with domestic violence, a gross misdemeanor, in Whatcom County District Court. He was sentenced to serve 364 days in jail, with 362 suspended.
Former Bellingham police officer Sukhdev Dhaliwal was fired from the department May 7, 2018 after allegations of misconduct were sustained during an internal investigation.
Dhaliwal was found guilty Sept. 24, 2018 of misdemeanor fourth-degree assault after he and his brother got into a fight with two men at a Blaine business in mid-October 2017. He was sentenced to 30 days suspended, which was converted to 240 hours of community service.
Dhaliwal’s conviction was dismissed by a Superior Court judge in Dec. 2019, The Herald previously reported.
Former Cpl. Brooks Owen Laughlin was resentenced to a little more than six years in prison in March 2021 after he was convicted of multiple charges relating to a years-long pattern of domestic violence abuse of a woman known to him.
He was originally sentenced to eight years in prison in Dec. 2018 after a jury found him guilty in mid-November 2018 of nine charges relating to the pattern of domestic violence abuse.
Laughlin resigned from duty April 20, 2018, following two arrests and violations of a no-contact order.
The Bellingham Police Department had known about Laughlin’s history of domestic violence since at least January 2017, but some sheriff’s deputies and the woman’s family had had concerns about Laughlin’s conduct since 2015, The Herald previously reported.
The city of Bellingham settled a federal civil rights lawsuit involving Laughlin for $175,000 in Feb. 2020. The lawsuit accused Laughlin of using excessive force during an arrest and accused the department of having a policy of tolerating violent officers.
The city is currently defending itself against a lawsuit filed in Whatcom County Superior Court by the woman Laughlin abused, Laughlin’s ex-wife and mother of their three children, and the three children, that allege they suffered mental and physical violence, emotional abuse and damage to the parent-child relationship, among other things. The women’s lawsuit states that the city and Bellingham police knew or should have known Laughlin posed a grave risk to the women, but took no action to stop him independently or in his capacity as a police officer, according to court records.
The women and children are seeking damages in an amount to be proven at trial. The city previously denied their tort claims seeking in total damages of $9 million, court documents show.
The civil case was expected to head to trial earlier this year, but was postponed. A new trial date has not yet been selected, according to court records.
The three officers’ arrests, which occurred within three years time of one another, led to an outside agency review of the department and the events leading up to the arrests, The Herald previously reported.
The department said at that time that it would work with a local domestic violence and sexual assault agency to determine “best practices” in dealing with allegations of domestic violence involving its officers.
Resources
▪ Brigid Collins Family Support Center: 360-734-4616, brigidcollins.org
Brigid Collins Family Support Center professionals are on-call between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., Monday through Friday, to answer questions about children, families, abuse prevention or treatment at (360) 734-4616.
▪ Child Protective Services: Washington state hotline for reporting child abuse and neglect, 866-829-2153.
▪ Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Services: 24-hour Help Line: 360-715-1563, Email: info@dvsas.org.
▪ Lummi Victims of Crime: 360-312-2015.
▪ Tl’ils Ta’á’altha Victims of Crime: 360-325-3310 or nooksacktribe.org/departments/youth-family-services/tlils-taaaltha-victims-of-crime-program/
▪ Bellingham Police: You can call anonymously at 360-778-8611, or go online at cob.org/tips.
▪ WWU Consultation and Sexual Assault Support Survivor Advocacy Services: 360-650-3700 or wp.wwu.edu/sexualviolence/.
If you or a child is in immediate danger, call 911 and make a report to law enforcement.
To report child abuse or neglect call 1-866-END HARM.
