ARLINGTON, Wash. — The Arlington Police Department says it has fired a police officer accused of possessing child porn.
41-year-old Dustin Bartlett, who was once selected “Officer of the Year” at his department, was arrested early last month when his girlfriend turned him.
Bartlett was terminated Thursday following an internal investigation into violations of department policy.
The officer’s girlfriend spoke with KIRO 7 shortly after the arrest. She took our crew into their shared home on Camano Island and revealed a cabinet in their closet. It held some law enforcement equipment, including handcuffs and gun belts.
According to investigators, it was the hiding place for two hard drives that contained over 1,000 images of child porn.
According to court documents, the officer’s girlfriend saw him looking at some of the images and she called him out on it. She told KIRO 7 he reportedly shoved her. She called 911, but Bartlett was not arrested that day.
A few days later, she told KIRO 7 she snuck a look at the hard drives and handed the evidence over to Island County Sheriff’s deputies, prompting an arrest.
“Kind of a gut punch for myself and all of the members of the department, to be honest with you,” Chief Jonathan Ventura of the Arlington Police Department said.
Bartlett was originally placed on administrative leave. He was arrested again by the Island County Sheriff’s Office on May 29 for violating a domestic violence no-contact order that prohibited him from being around his girlfriend.
According to law enforcement, he returned home after he was released on bail, prompting neighbors to call 911. Law enforcement says that Bartlett’s most recent arrest would not affect the initial investigation for child pornography.