WHITMAN COUNTY, Wash. — A Whitman County Judge denied a protection order against the Pullman Police Chief on Wednesday.
The City of Pullman placed Chief Jake Opgenorth on administrative leave in December for harassment and sexual assault allegations made by his former girlfriend.
On December 20, Opgenorth surrendered several weapons and his badge and Washington State Patrol began an investigation into the allegations.
The same day, a judge also granted a temporary protection order filed by Opgenorth’s former girlfriend. She cited “domestic violence” as the reason for the order.
6,000 pages of messages between Opgenorth and his accuser, dating back to 2021, were reviewed by the judge.
A court hearing was held on February 26, before the judge denied the protection order.
According to court documents, the judge marked “insufficient evidence” as the final order findings.
“A preponderance of the evidence does not support issuing any type of protection order that this court has authority to issue,” reads the denial document.
The denial also means the end of Opgenorth’s order to surrender his weapons.
“If any firearms or dangerous weapons have been surrendered under this case number, they shall be released to the restrained person,” the document states.
The document also indicates there are no further court hearings scheduled for the case at this time.
Opgenorth has been with PPD for 29 years and in law enforcement since 1992.
As of Wednesday afternoon, no statements regarding the judge’s decision have been released by PPD, Opgenorth and his team or his accuser and her team.
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