- A former police chief was granted a $1.52 million settlement to resign.
- Former Kent Assistant Chief Derek Kammerzell was initially reprimanded in September 2020.
- Kammerzell was suspended for putting up Nazi insignia on his office door, The Seattle Times reported.
A Seattle suburb has reached a $1.5 million agreement with a former assistant police chief who was suspended for posting Nazi insignia on his office door, The Seattle Times reported on Friday.
In September 2020, former Kent Assistant Chief Derek Kammerzell was suspended for two weeks without pay for the violation, which also included making fun of the Holocaust, per The Times.
KIRO7, a CBS TV affiliate in Seattle, reported that the city said Kammerzell's two-week suspension was "appropriate based on the facts and after considering the assistant chief's 27 years of performance without discipline, the lack of any allegations of excessive force during his career, and a record with no known complaints from the community."
However, members of the community were outraged and Mayor Dana Ralph demanded Kammerzell step down.
Kammerzell was placed on administrative leave in December 2021. Since he was already disciplined, Arthur Fitzpatrick, who is the interim city chief administrative officer and also the city's attorney, said the discipline would come at a high cost to the city, per The Times.
Kammerzell initially had demanded $3.1 million for his resignation but after months of negotiations, he and the city reached an agreement of $1.52 million.
"While this is a substantial sum, we strongly believe that settling this matter will be a substantial step towards meeting our commitment to the community and continuing with the excellent work the police department is doing," the city said, according to KIRO7
The Seattle Times reported that even if Kammerzell was initially fired, he would have been able to win his job back and get back pay.
"Had the city terminated the assistant chief, it is confident it would have been in no better position than it is now," Fitzpatrick said.