Vancouver officer arrested after traffic stop, standoff
VANCOUVER, Wash. -- A Vancouver police detective has been arrested on suspicion of obstructing a law enforcement officer.
The situation began as a routine traffic stop in Washougal and led to a bizarre standoff with police at the detective’s home three nights later, Washougal authorities said.
Authorities said Jeremy Free, 40, was seen driving his car through a stop sign, and was pulled over by a Washougal police officer on Saturday evening.
The officer said he smelled a strong odor of alcohol on Free’s breath, and asked him to step out of the car. Free refused, leading to a confrontation with police. Free was later arrested at his home.
This isn’t the first time Free, a detective assigned to the missing person’s unit of the Vancouver Police Department, has raised eyebrows. Free made news in 2011 for his conduct during an undercover prostitution sting in which he exposed himself to a prostitute and touched the woman’s breasts. He was never disciplined for that incident.
Following the Saturday traffic stop, as officers asked Free to comply, Free continued to argue with the officer and refused to follow commands from other responding officers, according to a news release from the Washougal Police Department.
Free switched seats with a woman in the car. As officers attempted to issue Free a citation for obstructing a law enforcement officer and first-degree negligent driving, he refused and rolled up his window. A woman in car accepted the citation and they drove away, Washougal police said.
On Tuesday night, Washougal officers went to Free’s home to execute a search. Police said Free was seen in the home holding a semiautomatic pistol. Officers instructed Free to drop the gun but he refused.
A standoff ensued for 50 minutes before Free complied with officers and was ultimately taken into custody, Washougal police said. He was released from jail later that night.
It wasn’t immediately clear when Free would appear in court. The case was referred to the Clark County Prosecutor’s Office for review. A decision on charges hasn’t yet been made.
Free is on paid administrative leave from the Vancouver Police Department.
Free’s conduct during an undercover prostitution sting was detailed in a February 2011 article in The Columbian. Free posed as a john and met a prostitute at a Vancouver motel. During the trial of the accused prostitute, Free testified that he had exposed himself and touched the woman upon her request.
Vancouver police officials said at that time that Free wasn’t disciplined, though they planned to review the department’s policies when it came to conducting undercover prostitution stings.
If a regular citizen had done what this guy did he would be dead. They would have shot him dead when he refused to drop the gun. Then to be released from jail that same night!!! Disgusting!. Any citizen arrested for the same behaviour would never have been released within hours of being arrested.
This Puke needs to be publicly stripped of gun and badge.
This is disgusting! This detective should have been observed earlier and attended to. I'm sure it wasn't his first time driving while under the influence. Police are held to a higher standard by the public, and rightly so. He needs to be either treated or dismissed. I am appalled! And I am a retiree after over 35 years of honorable service!
@jpk  He needs to be JAILED. He had a ARMED STANDOFF with police. It was obviously in his mind to use that weapon to stay out of jail. We cant have that with civilians OR cops.
Not defending this guy, but this is just wierd on many levels and perhaps some very disjointed writing.  I must assume the officer could not conclude and opinion Free was under the influence at the stop after he refused tests.   Or,....they were intimidated. Having an officer behave like that to me would just pixx me off. Article says arrested at his home later,....that night or three days later?? What was the charge?  Then they to go to his home three days laterr to execute a search? Search for what? Did they have a search warrant? Then he gets wierd again. Guy sounds like a loose cannon, but the article leaves a lot to be desired.
 @BrownknightÂ
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Indeed BK, very strange. If you can't develop PC for the arrest based on driving and other observations then you arrest him for obstruction? Never heard of that creative bit, but I haven't worked the road for a long time.  Sounds like the officer wasn't sure if he had PC based on the infraction and strong odor and was ticked off at the idiot driver/officer for not cooperating. Seems to me it's skinny PC, but PC none-the-less. Hook him up if he refuses FST's and the intox you suspend his license and let the DA and his boss decide his fate.
Despite being unethical (and probably a violation of VPD policy), the exposing/touching incident actually makes sense because prostitutes frequently ask their "dates" to do this to prove they are not cops. Drunk driving and obstructing an officer makes no sense whatsoever. He should NEVER have been allowed to leave the scene, even with someone else driving his car. This really does sound like some undeserved "officer courtesy," because no ordinary citizen would've been allowed to leave.Â
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If this guy really is a rogue cop, and it sounds like he is, his co-workers can make things very uncomfortable for him despite all the union protection. Good cops would never support a clown like this. They can't count on him when their lives are at stake. All the good cops at VPD should do what's necessary to push this jackass out of their department. Â
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@StealthActivist "This really does sound like some undeserved "officer courtesy,".
It will be a great day when people refuse to accept this behavior but I don't believe that day will come any time soon. These same courtesies exist in all professions.
The fact that Free was extended several courtesies imply he is not a rogue. A good cop would NOT overlook his actions.
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He knows how to free his willy!
Another rogue cop who needs to find another profession.
I have met this man he is a cowboy cop who puts people in jail over a hunch.  This man is scumbag and a disgrace to VPD..Any one of us would have been shot holding a handgun. Stand up people, so we can be heard or this injustice will keep happening.Â
I take it that this is the proverbial "bad apple" in the barrel :( Can his a**
 @fracas one of many
A freaking detective no less! Â Free needs to lose his job and go to prison for awhile.
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@negativerep I am pretty sure that is what is going to happen.
 @Dirtman  @negativerep no i highly doubt it
@Dirtman   Sorry, I can't tell....were you being sarcastic?   Not only will his charges get dropped, he probably won't even get a reprimand.   Since he did not get a field sobriety test, he wont be charged with the DUI that he should have gotten, his standoff with the Washougal cops will allow him to claim PTSD disorder from his Vancouver detective job and his union will bargain for him to be fully paid while in treatment for this workplace injury until he can be rehabilitated and put back on the job collecting public employee retirement points. Â
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Say it ain't so.Â
@Dirtman  You should keep up with the Seattle news. Stuff like this happens all the time there and those cops get off too. The initial event hits the media but all the backend stuff happens behind closed doors and gets swept away.
@scared_citizen I was being serious. I understand your thoughts, but I think because of his prior run-in's and the fact that this is made public that he will finally have justice ruled against him. Had this not gotten out to the media, he very well could just be dismissed without going to jail.
Yeah, because no cop has ever gotten away with severely breaking the law with a slap on the wrist...more than once.
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I'll be "sure" of it when it happens.
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If this guys keeps his job, give me one good reason other than a bullet in the head anyone should ever listen to a cop?Â
@Portlander29Â Â Because they will shoot YOU if you dont have a badge when doing that.
You're Free?
> I'm free to go?
No, that was a question. Are you Free?
> I don't know, I thought you said...
Sir, I'm Officer Who, Idont Noo is my partner. Now all I want to know is, are you Free?
 @dan42dayÂ
It's probably jokes like that that drove him over the edge....8-}
 @dan42day Of course I'm too young to get your joke, but it's still funny. lol.
So who read who their Miranda rights?
"On Tuesday night, Washougal officers went to Freeâs home to execute a search. Police said Free was seen in the home holding a semiautomatic pistol. Officers instructed Free to drop the gun but he refused.
A standoff ensued for 50 minutes before Free complied with officers and was ultimately taken into custody, "
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"Free is on paid administrative leave from the Vancouver Police Department."
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The first statement and the second seem very incongruous to me. How about being placed on leave and in the event he is exonerated of ALL charges, he can be reinstated at his current salary.
@HenryBowman I agree. How do you continue to pay someone so FLAGRANTLY in voliation of a NUMBER of laws. The answer is: "The VPOG is the exclusive collective bargaining organization for the Police Officers, Corporals, and Sergeants of the Vancouver, Washington Police Department". Common Sense does NOT apply. Apparently you can't fire anyone for any behaviour.
 @scared_citizen  @HenryBowman Because its a strong Union is how bad cops.. keep getting chances after chances. I'm not against Union's.. I'm in one.. but when it comes to someone enforcing the law and that much responsibility that effects lifes... there needs to be a faster way to get these bad apples out the door and the Union shouldn't defend such behavior.
So Free is free when he shouldn't be.
"asked him to step out of the car. Free refused, leading to a confrontation with police. Free was later arrested at his home."
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Why was he allowed to leave in the first place? No peon citizen would be extended the same courtesy -- said peon would have been dragged out of the car after being tased multiple times.
 @JamieÂ
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Or shot through the window when he refused to drop his weapon.
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Or a dozen other commonplace overreactions that lead to the death and disfigurement of common citizens.
@Jamie and beaten severely after being tased. The answer is "Professional Courtesy" or the "thin blue line". I bet this is because he identified himself as a Vancouver cop at the time of the stop or he would not have been allowed to leave the site of the stop and they wouldnt have waited to pursue this. He will probably get away with his apparent Drunk Driving since no field sobriety test was performed and they waited till TUESDAY NIGHT" to "execute a search". It doesnt even sound like he "refused" the field sobriety test since he refused to get out of the car to begin with. That was probably his plan. At this point, the whole Washougal Police Dept almost lost my respect. At least they wised up Tuesday Night and went to look at this further but for almost 3 days, they were negligent in performing their duty.
 @Jamie ~  Well said, Jamie - you raised the same questions and issues that I had...!
 @margay1  @Jamie I wonder if rank played a part?
 @Jamie That's the same question I have. The same standards must apply to all. If you or I refused to obey a police officer in that manner we'd have spent the night in jail. It'll be interesting to see more details come out of this, but on the surface it appears there were many bad decisions made by all.