Bellevue officer who didn't test or arrest fellow cop for DUI fired

BELLEVUE, Wash. — A Bellevue police officer who made a DUI traffic stop on a fellow officer but did not test or arrest him has been fired by the police chief after an internal investigation.

On Nov. 20, 2013,  Bellevue police Officer Doug Brennan stopped a car on Interstate 90 near Issaquah to investigate the driver for DUI.  The driver was then off-duty Bellevue police Officer Andrew Hanke.

According to a police report, Hanke was driving erratically, speeding and abruptly changing lanes.

Brennan, who was on his way home from work around 9 p.m., recognized Hanke’s gold Jeep as it passed him traveling at 73 mph.

In his police report, Brennan wrote that Hanke smelled of alcohol and had "a glazed look on his face.”

Brennan also wrote that he told Hanke “that he was drunk,”  but Brennan did not test Hanke for DUI.

No arrest was made and Hanke was driven home by a family member.

Officer Brennan told a supervisor about the incident after Hanke had left the scene. Chief Linda Pillo was told about the incident the next morning.

Hanke was immediately placed on administrative leave and an internal and criminal investigation was ordered. After the criminal investigation was referred to the King County Prosecutor’s Office in December 2013,  Hanke was charged with DUI. In January, Hanke resigned from the police department.

The department also investigated Brennan, who made the stop. He was placed on administrative leave on February 4.

At the end of the internal investigation, Chief Pillo found that Brennan had violated department policies: Department code of ethics, alternatives to arrest and confinement and false information.

See the termination letter describing Brennan's actions here.

According to a Bellevue police notice of termination, Brennan did not notify dispatch about the traffic stop and failed to tell supervisors about Hanke's DUI stop until Hanke had already left the scene. The document also said Brennan lied to another officer who came to the scene and mentioned "medication" when the other officer said he thought the driver was impaired.

The termination notice also said Brennan used his personal cellphone to call Hanke's wife, told her that Hanke was intoxicated and asked that she come with another person to take home Hanke's car.

Brennan was terminated Wednesday.

Brennan was hired in March of 1999. He was an accident investigator for the traffic unit and a member of the bomb squad.

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