PULLMAN, Wash – Pullman’s police chief was ordered by a judge to surrender his weapons as part of a protection order filed against him by a former girlfriend.
Court records show a judge ordered Jake Opgenorth to surrender his weapons on December 20, the same day the judge granted a temporary protection order.
The records show a woman with whom Opgenorth had a relationship said he’s been aggressive and has harassed her by phone, text and through the mail.
She said she feared it was going to be get worse “now that he’s on admin leave and under investigation.”
The woman checked the box for “domestic violence” as the reason to ask for the protection order. Down below, she wrote in “sexual assault” as a secondary reason for requesting the order, but did not elaborate in the document.
Washington State Patrol indicated they are part of an investigation into Opgenorth but have yet to release any information about the nature of the investigation.
Several media reports over the weekend said that Opgenorth had been placed on leave. When asked about it Monday, Pullman Mayor Francis Benjamin said he could not comment and referred 4 News Now to an attorney.
Benjamin would not confirm or deny that Opgenorth was on leave. As of late Monday morning, the attorney has not returned calls for comment.
The motion for the protection order indicates the woman submitted text/email/social messages to back up her claims, but they can’t be seen in the requested court records.
Court records show the Whitman County undersheriff collected 12 weapons from Opgenorth and also a box of knives.
Opgenorth’s bio on the City of Pullman website says he’s been in law enforcement since 1992 and has been with Pullman Police for 29 years.
He was named police chief in 2022.
There’s a hearing on the status of the protection order scheduled for Monday afternoon in Whitman County Superior Court.
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