Editor’s note: This article has been updated June 30 with additional quotes.
The King County Sheriff’s Office was recently ordered to rehire a detective who fatally shot a Black Diamond resident.
On Nov. 25, 2019, George Alvarez shot and killed Anthony Chilcott, who just days prior had stolen a pickup (and the dog inside) parked at a gas station on the city’s south end, after a struggle.
Alvarez was fired in April 2021, but promised to fight his termination.
He was successful on May 30, when a California-based arbitrator (as opposed to a judge) ruled that while Alvarez failed to attempt to de-escalate the situation with Chilcott, KCSO did not violate Alvarez’s due-process rights in regard to his termination, and the investigation into his actions was fair, there was no “clear and convincing evidence” that de-escalation strategies would have been successful, KCSO was sending mixed-messages about de-escalation training, and then-Sheriff Mitzi Johanknecht did not properly follow discharge policy when she fired Alvarez.
Arbitrator Najeeb Khoury also ruled that Alvarez should not receive any back pay, be removed from the Special Engagement Team he served on, and undergo additional de-escalation training before returning to the field.
At the time of his termination, Alvarez had served with KSCO for more than two decades; before this incident, according to the Seattle Times, he had been involved in five shootings and was once charged with “roughing up an informant”.
The Seattle Times also reported he had yet to return to KCSO as of June 28.
Right before he was terminated, King County settled a lawsuit filed by Chilcott’s family for $2.5 million, a move that family attorney Tony Russo hoped indicated a “paradigm shift” in law enforcement taking responsibility for poor police work.
He said he was “surprised” by the ruling, and that the Chilcott family is “frightened”.
“They feel justice was done when he was fired and they’re concerned about themselves, and perhaps more importantly… given his prior track record, putting a gun and a license back into his hand is not something they’re cherishing,” Russo continued.
Binding arbitration is not uncommon when it comes to police discipline cases; a 2020 study by Stephen Rushin of the Loyola University Chicago School of Law found 52% of officer discipline cases resulted in reduced or overturned disciplinary actions when a case is brought to arbitration.
King County has also weighed in on the ruling.
“The county stands by its original disciplinary decision and we are disappointed in the outcome. Given the arbitrator’s order and consistent with our collective bargaining agreement, our Human Resources team will be working with the Sheriff’s Office to determine the next steps for this individual to safely return to service, including determining what additional training is necessary,” Chase Gallagher, director of communications in King County Executive Dow Constantine’s office. “Sheriff Cole-Tindall has discretion to determine duty assignments, and the Sheriff does not intend for this individual to return to SWAT duties.”
WHAT HAPPENED IN 2019
On Nov. 22, 2019, Chilcott stole a truck (and “Monkey”, the dog inside) from the Black Diamond Cenex station while the owner was in the store. He eluded police for three days until he was spotted in the Flaming Geyser State Park area and then later in the Cumberland area.
That’s when Alvarez and his partner, Detective Josh Lerum, responded to try and arrest him.
On their way to make contact, Alvarez and Lerum were told via radio that Chilcott had rammed a police vehicle when he was spotted around Flaming Geyser. This turned out to not be the case — Chilcott had merely incidentally hit another deputy’s vehicle, but did not cause any damage — but Alvarez testified that he didn’t catch those details over the radio.
However, Lerum said he confirmed those details over the radio while Alvarez was in the car.
Alvarez, who was driving an unmarked police vehicle, pulled up to the truck Chilcott had stolen to make contact. Chilcott did not comply with the detective’s instructions and instead rammed their vehicle with the truck; Alvarez responded by forcing the truck across the road, onto a strip of rocks. Alvarez testified that the truck’s tinted windows made it difficult for him to determine what Chilcott was doing inside.
Chilcott then tried to drive away, but his wheels couldn’t get traction as the deputies approached the car on foot. After they broke the driver’s side window with a sledgehammer and reached inside to shut the truck off, Chilcott reached for Alvarez’s firearm; both deputies then shot Chilcott, killing him.
Former Undersheriff Patti Cole-Tindall initially recommended that Alvarez be removed from the plainclothes unit and have him receive additional de-escalation training. Cole-Tindall became Sheriff in 2022.
Then-Sheriff Mitzi Johanknecht opted to terminate Alvarez instead.
“The urgency here was created by your actions, not the actions of the suspect,” she wrote in a March 25, 2021 termination letter, noting that his role as a plain-clothes detective was to surveil and call for backup, not to contact Chilcott, and when he did make contact, Alvarez failed to de-escalate the situation. “Your actions demonstrated a disregard for the public, your partner and yourself.”
However, Alvarez had already received a written reprimand for his actions on Jan. 27, 2021. This meant that it was improper for Johanknecht to fire Alvarez for something he had already received disciplinary action for; Khoury called it “double jeopardy” and cited KCSO termination policy.
