Seattle police Detective David
Blackmer was sentenced Wednesday to 90 days in jail after pleading guilty to
cyberstalking by posting sexually explicit photos of an ex-lover after she told
his wife about their extramarital affair.
By Sara Jean Green
EVERETT — Detective David
Blackmer, a 17-year veteran of the Seattle Police Department, was sentenced
Wednesday to 90 days in jail for cyberstalking an ex-lover by posting sexually
explicit photos and videos of the woman online in retaliation for ending their
extramarital relationship.
Though Snohomish County Deputy
Prosecutor Randy Yates had asked District Court Judge Tami Bui to revoke
Blackmer’s right to possess a firearm — which would have ended his
law-enforcement career — Bui opted not to do so based on the facts of the case.
Defense attorney Ryan Wood had
argued that Blackmer was charged with cyberstalking/domestic violence, a gross
misdemeanor that is not among the domestic-violence crimes listed in state law
that require revocation of a defendant’s firearms right.
Blackmer is tentatively
scheduled to report to the Snohomish County Jail on Feb. 4, he said.
“Having a police officer
incarcerated is unusual,” Wood said, noting there are “logistical issues” jail
officials must first work out to ensure Blackmer’s safety while he’s behind
bars.
Blackmer, who was arrested in
July and placed on paid administrative leave, will remain on leave while the
Seattle Police Department’s Office of Professional Accountability (OPA)
conducts an internal investigation. The OPA investigation was put on hold until
resolution of Blackmer’s criminal case.
“His status remains the same,”
Sgt. Sean Whitcomb, a department spokesman, said Wednesday.
Blackmer, a 44-year-old father
of two, made $102,580 last year, according to a database of the city payroll.
Blackmer had vowed to “ruin”
the life of the victim after she went to Blackmer’s home in unincorporated
Snohomish County in July to tell his wife about their affair, according to
prosecutors.
While there, the woman argued
with Blackmer, who grabbed her by the neck and pushed her to the ground,
charging documents say.
Blackmer and the
then-31-year-old Auburn woman had begun a sexual relationship in December 2012
after meeting on an Internet dating website, according to the documents.
Within hours of the
confrontation at Blackmer’s home, the woman noticed the explicit photos and
videos on a phony Facebook page Blackmer created, the documents say. Some of
the photographs and videos were taken by Blackmer while Blackmer and the woman
were engaged in sexual activity.
She reported the incident to
Seattle police, telling investigators she felt “violated” and “degraded.”
Police disabled the Facebook page.
Blackmer originally was
arrested on investigation of second-degree identity theft — a felony — and
cyberstalking/domestic violence, but court records show the case was dismissed
because prosecutors didn’t file charges by July 31.
He was charged with the gross
misdemeanor on Dec. 10 and pleaded guilty at his arraignment a week later,
according to the records.
Bui sentenced Blackmer to 364
days in jail, but suspended all but 90 days, with credit for the two days
Blackmer already has served in jail. Bui ordered him to serve five years on
probation, pay a $1,000 fine and have no contact with the victim for five
years.
Noting that Blackmer underwent
treatment for 30 days at a Florida treatment center, Bui said probation
officials will decide if that program meets Washington standards; if not,
Blackmer also will have to undergo domestic-violence batterers’ treatment as
part of his probation.
Blackmer told the judge he was
diagnosed with an “attachment disorder” while at the Florida treatment center,
which made him emotionally detach from his wife and led to self-destructive
behavior and the relationship outside his marriage.
Since returning to his
Everett-area home, Blackmer said, he’s been involved in a Christian-based
recovery program through his church.
Saying he takes full
responsibility for his actions, Blackmer apologized “for my actions to the
victim, my family and those I’ve disappointed.”
