The state Criminal Justice Training Commission (CJTC) has formally revoked the police officer certifications of three officers who were fired from the Centralia Police Department in December 2021 for failing to provide a timely response to a domestic violence call.
CJTC handles training and certification for peace officers in the state of Washington.
The officers — Sgt. John Dorff and officers Michael Smerer and Jocelynn Giammalva — were accused of ignoring the call for aid while they were having a crew lunch at the police station.
A fourth officer involved in the incident, Phil Reynolds, still had his police officer certification as of Thursday, Aug. 31, but has a decertification hearing scheduled for Oct. 19.
The incident itself occurred on June 26, 2021. According to investigative documents previously reported on by The Chronicle, the four officers were dispatched to an apartment complex after a man reportedly pulled a woman into an apartment by her hair, but despite confirming the dispatch over the radio and confirming via case notes that the suspect had a current protection order against him and two misdemeanor warrants, the officers stayed at the police station to make homemade pizzas and drink milkshakes. They didn’t leave until a third call about the incident came in an hour and 50 minutes after the initial call.
When they did arrive at the scene, investigators note, “the … victim had obvious signs of domestic abuse, but refused the officers entry into the residence. The abuser ended up jumping out the back window and escaping. The officers decided to arrest the victim and booked her into jail on a felony, rendering criminal assistance, even though the victim had told the officers that she is afraid of her abuser and he has threatened he would take it out on her and her family if they assisted with police to arrest him,” according to charging documents filed with CJTC.
The four officers were also found to be “not truthful” and “only offered excuses” during the Centralia Police Department’s internal investigation into the incident.
The Chronicle’s previous reporting on that investigation can be accessed online at https://tinyurl.com/3w57k4ew.
Dorff, Smerer and Giammalva were fired from the Centralia Police Department on Nov. 4, 2021, by Centralia Police Chief Stacy Denham. Reynolds was placed on administrative leave on Nov. 4, 2021, and was fired on Dec. 17, 2021, after investigators discerned his involvement in the incident.
The Centralia Police Department reported details of the incident to CJTC on Nov. 9, 2021, when it gave notice of its decision to fire Dorff, Smerer and Giammalva.
The CJTC then reviewed the Centralia Police Department’s investigation to determine a stance on whether the officers’ police certifications should be revoked.
On Jan. 17, 2023, the CJTC filed charges against Dorff, Smerer and Giammalva as the first step toward revoking their police certifications.
In March 2023, the CJTC filed additional charges against Smerer based on a subsequent Centralia Police Department investigation that found “Smerer, with the intent to defraud, falsely altered his ex-girlfriend's power of attorney by replacing her father’s name with his name” then offered the falsified power of attorney to the Lakewood Police Department.
While the CJTC notes the allegations qualify as forgery, which is a class C felony, The Chronicle was unable to confirm whether Smerer is facing criminal charges stemming from the incident.
The CJTC ruled to revoke the police certifications of Smerer, Dorff and Giammalva on June 15, according to the decision documents.
The former officers were allowed to petition the CJTC’s ruling within 20 days, but The Chronicle was unable to confirm whether they did so. Giammalva and Dorff have filed responses, which the CJTC is investigating as complaints, according to Denham.
The decertification orders were still in effect as of Thursday, Aug. 31.
The CJTC filed charges against Reynolds on Feb. 21, 2023. In addition to his involvement with the June 2021 domestic violence incident, Reynolds is accused of failing to properly investigate a potential vehicular assault domestic violence incident several months later, in September 2021.
The Chronicle’s previous coverage on the investigation into that incident can be read online at https://tinyurl.com/4rvdr4w8.
As of his December 2021 termination, Reynolds had four Brady disclosures — letters to the prosecutor’s office disclosing that an officer has a sustained complaint of dishonesty on their record — attached to his name, according to Denham.
He was previously terminated from the Centralia Police Department in March 2012 for a long list of alleged policy violations — including allegations of excessive use of force.
Prior to his March 2012 termination, Reynolds had already faced serious reprimands, including a two-week, unpaid suspension the previous July after an internal investigation found he excessively Tased multiple people under questionable circumstances and later lied about it, according to previous Chronicle reporting.
Reynolds rehired with backpay in May 2014 following arbitration, where a private arbitrator ruled to overturn the Centralia Police Department’s decision to fire Reynolds.
The arbitrator’s decision in Reynolds’ case was final and no further appeal could be made, according to previous Chronicle reporting.
While Reynolds attempted to appeal his most-recent termination via arbitration, an arbitrator with the state Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC) upheld the Centralia Police Department’s decision to fire Reynolds in a formal ruling on Oct. 7, 2022.
