Seattle Police Identify Officer Fired For Instagram Rants

SEATTLE, WA — The Seattle Police Department has identified an officer fired last November after the city's police oversight office concluded his Instagram posts broke social media rules and professional standards.

The OPA found one post referencing the former president "appeared to endorse violence against political figures," and another criticized support for undocumented immigrants while using profane language. The watchdog's case report was published by the Office of Police Accountability Wednesday.

Friday night, SPD publicly named Duane Goodman and forwarded a copy of the disciplinary action report, along with a statement from Chief Carmen Best detailing the reasoning behind his termination.

"For a police officer to encourage violence against public figures with whom they disagree is a betrayal of the values of our profession.

In October 2018 and November 2018, a series of pipe bombs were mailed to several public officials and news organizations. It is entirely inappropriate for a police officer to suggest violence and encourage the violent actions of others.

The Department notified the U.S. Secret Service, and the fact that the Secret Service viewed these posts as warranting an investigation bolsters my view that they were far outside the acceptable bounds for a police officer, and potentially constituted criminal behavior.

The Department’s ability to fulfill its public safety duties depends on communities believing that officers will treat them equally and with dignity. The comments about immigration undermine the public trust in our ability to police all communities fairly.

As a result, I terminated the employment of the person who made the comments."

A probe into Goodman's actions began in November 2018 after the city's Office of Police Accountability received an anonymous complaint, flagging several posts by "@officerdg" that used "extremely profane language" and "attack[ed] certain groups of people...[and] people's political views."

In one post reviewed by the OPA, investigators said a photo showing a "mail package bomb" contained a caption referencing former President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

"I don't condone sending package bombs but god it would be nice for Killary and Anti cop Obama to finally STFU," the post begins.

According to the SPD disciplinary report, the U.S. Secret Service interviewed Goodman after they were made aware of the post, but the U.S. Attorney's Office ultimately declined to file charges.

The OPA said another post featured a photo of Goodman giving a middle finger gesture.

"If you support illegal immigrants coming into our country so much then make a difference and bring them into your home and YOU support them you [expletive]," the second post said.

According to investigators, Goodman admitted in an OPA interview that the account was his, and acknowledged the posts were unprofessional and could "negatively impact the department's ability to serve the public." He said he would not have written the posts in hindsight.

During a meeting with the police chief, Goodman echoed his regret and promised to avoid similar actions in the future. In the disciplinary letter, Best said there was "no excuse" for the posts and cited a suspension Goodman received in 2019 for "unnecessarily escalating an incident, using threatening and inappropriate language, and behaving in a manner that made another officer concerned for his safety."

"I cannot, and will not, take the risk of subjecting the public we serve to another lapse in jugement that could further impact members of the community and the department," Best wrote. "I do not have confidence in your ability to effectively function as a member of this police department."

The termination letter was signed by the chief, dated Nov. 6, 2019.

Read Police Chief Carmen Best's full disciplinary report: