Sergeant Involved In Probe Of Cover-Up Allegations Retires

Don Cameron, the Seattle homicide sergeant who allegedly helped cover up a theft by one of his detectives, retired from the department yesterday, saying he wants to spare his family and colleagues any more trauma.

"I have a daughter that is getting married this weekend. And I want this to be her day," he said, speaking publicly for the first time since the allegations came to light two months ago.

Cameron declined to discuss the theft allegations in detail, but said he wasn't retiring because of a pending department review of his conduct or possible disciplinary action.

He said his decision was based on broader concerns about the fallout of the case on his family and the department.

His exit means the department won't be able to punish him as he ends a storied career that spanned nearly 39 years and won him the respect of judges, prosecutors and even attorneys who faced him in court.

Police Chief Norm Stamper said this morning that the department would finish its review, but noted the findings would be incomplete in light of Cameron's decision to leave without providing a statement.

Cameron's personnel file shows no record of any disciplinary action for misconduct during his tenure, according to the department.

As he explained his decision, Cameron appeared relaxed and relieved, flashing a smile that his job often kept him from displaying and revealing a sentimental side sometimes obscured by his tall, balding and beefy looks.

"I really regret having to do it this way, because it's certainly not the way I had planned on leaving the Police Department," he said. "But I think, under the circumstances, this is best for my family, which is my main concern. And I think it's probably best for the department."

Stamper said he agreed with Cameron's conclusion, calling the retirement a "tragic end" to an extraordinary career. "I seriously regret that his career has ended on this note, but I wish him well," the chief said.

With his attorneys, Anne Bremner and Lisa Marchese, beside him, Cameron said he couldn't discuss the theft case because he doesn't want to jeopardize the trial of former Detective Earl "Sonny" Davis Jr., who has been charged with stealing $10,000 from a dead man's belongings 2 1/2 years ago.

But Cameron, 63, said the case had undercut his ability to stay on the force.

Ultimately no charges

"I am not sure, under the circumstances, if I could any longer be efficient or productive for the Police Department," he said. The case has shaken the force and prompted Mayor Paul Schell to appoint an independent panel to look at the reasons some officers failed to report their knowledge of the alleged theft.

"I think there's just been too much water under the bridge at this point," Cameron said.

His decision comes eight weeks after he was placed on paid leave at the outset of an investigation by prosecutors and the department's internal-investigations unit into his role in the alleged theft.

Prosecutors ultimately declined to bring charges, though they contended Cameron helped Davis return the money to the crime scene a day after the alleged theft as part of a cover-up.

In addition, prosecutors suggested that Cameron took that action only because Davis' then-partner angrily confronted both men.

King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng said Cameron could have been charged with a gross misdemeanor of rendering criminal assistance or filing a false report were it not for a two-year statute of limitations.

Bremner and Marchese dispute that conclusion, maintaining that there was no legal or factual basis for bringing any charge against their client.

After prosecutors declined to charge Cameron, the Police Department then launched its own review to determine whether disciplinary action, ranging from a reprimand to dismissal, was warranted.

In outlining his reasons for retiring, Cameron said he didn't want to discuss how he has been treated by prosecutors or investigators. He said he has too much respect for Maleng and too much love for the department to say anything bad about either.

Of the department, he said, "I love the men and women . . . sworn and civilian. They've made the past 39 years the most wonderful years of my life.

"And I'm not using that word love loosely," he said. "I honestly love these people."

The homicide unit, which he joined in 1969, "is like my fourth child" or a "second family," said Cameron, who has three grown children. "I guess I'm like a mother hen or a father, I don't know what. I would do anything for them."

Calling loyalty to family "everything," Cameron said he would take "total, full responsibility" for any decision he has made in his 24 years as a sergeant in the unit.

"But my wife and kids are not part of that," he said, calling the "continual blitz" of press reports about the case devastating to his family. "Because of what's happened, they have become part of that."

In a written statement submitted to the department with his retirement papers, Cameron said he could have retired a few years ago and was to leave in March, but that he put off the decision because of his passion for the job.

"Frankly, after all these years, I still love the challenge of being a police officer," he wrote. The hardest part of the job, he said, was helping families cope with tragedies. "But there was also comfort in knowing that what I did sometimes prevented tragedies."

One of the most rewarding aspects of the job, he said, was working with young officers, instilling in them his "golden rule - to be always be honest to yourself."

"I told them it's not easy being a cop," he said in the statement. "It's physically and mentally demanding. There are fears, doubts and risks. And real hardships on families, like getting a call just before your daughter plays the starring role in a school concert to go instead to a murder scene."

In sum, Cameron said, "Even after all these years, I still like going out and getting the bad guy and putting the handcuffs on."

His retirement ends a career in which Cameron investigated more than 1,000 homicides and deaths, including some of the city's biggest murder cases.

He waded through blood at the scene of the Wah Mee massacre in 1983, in which 13 people were killed in a gambling club, and once tailed Ted Bundy when the serial killer first became a suspect in the slayings of a string of young women in the 1970s.

"I think he's one of the highest-quality detectives I have ever worked with," said King County Medical Examiner Donald Reay. "I think he has an extraordinary sense of dedication and feel for the investigation."

It was Cameron, Reay said, who dug up a case in the early 1980s in which a man died after police restrained him with a neck hold. Even though Cameron thought neck holds were a proper restraint, Reay said, he thought the issue deserved to be studied.

Cameron's assistance helped Reay prepare a 1982 report that led to a nationwide reduction in the use of neck holds by police.

"Again, it was a situation where he saw something out of the ordinary and thought it might be worth looking into," Reay said.

`Proud to call him a friend'

King County Superior Court Judge William Downing, who as a prosecutor worked closely with Cameron in the 1980s, issued this statement yesterday:

"I know nothing of, and express no opinion regarding, the incident that is currently in the news. What I do know is that I've known Don Cameron a long time and am proud to call him a friend. In all of our dealings, I have always had the highest regard for his abilities, his dedication, his loyalty and, above all, his integrity.

"It is my purely personal opinion that his long and invaluable service to the people of Seattle is something for which we should all be very grateful."

John Henry Browne, a prominent defense attorney, said he never had any negative experiences with Cameron in more than 50 cases during the past 20 years in which they faced each other.

Though some of the cases were contentious and emotional, "I never had a reason to doubt his integrity," Browne said. "He's clearly the patriarch of the old-time Seattle homicide division."

The Police Department, which he believes to be one of the finest in the country, will survive the present turmoil, Cameron said.

He will, too, he said, but not until after the pain of submitting his retirement papers subsides.

"It hurts. It really does," he said, his voice wavering. "I don't want to keep dwelling on this, but the Police Department has been my life for 39 years. I've seen a lot, done a lot. This obviously isn't the way I had planned on leaving the department. But because of my feelings for the department and the homicide unit, without being redundant, I feel this is the best decision for all concerned."