By Police1 Staff
BRIER, Wash. — A Washington officer says he was fired for responding to a neighboring department’s call about a shooting that left three teenagers dead and a fourth seriously injured.
Former Officer Dan Anderson says he was told by the Brier police chief that he shouldn’t have left the town unprotected to respond to the Mukilteo shooting, according to KIRO.
Because cops, on average, only respond to one call per shift in Brier, Anderson told the publication he didn’t see the issue with helping another department during a shooting incident.
Anderson received a formal letter of termination, but it didn’t give an explanation.
“When I asked him [the chief] why he said it was because I left the city of Brier unprotected to respond to the Mukilteo shooting,” Anderson told KIRO.
Anderson says he was one of the first officers to arrive at the scene of the deadly shooting.
“I think [the chief] was trying to do right by the city of Brier and I agree with that philosophically but ultimately when officers are asking for help, how can you expect a good officer to turn a deaf ear to that?” Anderson said. “I can’t understand that and if that means it’s time for me to find another line of work, so be it.”