FERRY COUNTY, Wash. — Gubernatorial candidate Loren Culp is facing another lawsuit over the handling of an investigation.
A 51-year-old Montana woman filed a federal lawsuit against Culp and Ferry County Sheriff’s Deputy Christine Clark for violating her civil rights during a traffic stop in August 2018.
Culp, along with two other law enforcement officers, were also sued in 2017. The lawsuit alleges Culp botched a child sex-abuse investigation and intimidated the victim with threats of a false claims charge, according to a report from the Seattle Times.
The most recent lawsuit claims Clark detained Wendy Farris for a DUI illegally and Culp and his K9 searched her vehicle for drugs. The suit also claims Culp encouraged the dog to alert for drugs that weren’t present.
According to the lawsuit, Farris was asleep in her vehicle when Clark knocked on her window. Farris said she had been afraid of falling asleep at the wheel and stopped to get some rest.
The lawsuit says Clark asked Farris if she had been drinking or doing drugs and she said she had not. Farris explained that she was tired and pulled over to nap.
The lawsuit claims that Clark had a long-standing dislike for Farris’ daughter, who had filed complaints against Clark with the Ferry County Sheriff’s Office over a call involving Farris’ daughter’s cattle.
Clark then turned the stop into a DUI investigation, according to the lawsuit. Farris requested a test to check for alcohol and drugs but Clark denied her request, the lawsuit says. Instead, the lawsuit says Clark improperly conducted a field sobriety test and improperly instructed Farris on how to perform them. The lawsuit claims Clark also positioned Farris to take the test in a spot where they wouldn’t be caught on camera. Clark told Farris she had failed the tests and placed her under arrest, according to the lawsuit.
Clark called for Culp, a newly certified K9 handler at the time, to search the car for narcotics, the lawsuit says. Culp’s K9, Karma, is trained to detect marijuana, heroin, meth, cocaine and MDMA, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit says Culp walked Karma around Wendy’s car and asked Karma to seek out the scent of narcotics but the dog did not alert.
“Culp then took Karma around the car a second time in the same manner as the first pass,” the lawsuit reads. “The dog had almost finished the second pass without an alert when Culp can be seen in the body camera footage, flat-handing the side of the car near the left rear quarter-panel while asking Karma to seek in that location. Karma can then be seen looking to Culp who you cannot see on the body camera video footage. After appearing to make eye contact with Culp, Karma sits.”
The lawsuit claims Karma’s alert was not reliable because Culp was handling a ‘scent toy’ with the same hand he was using to touch the car and triggered a false alert. The suit claims Culp also encouraged the dog to alert out of view from the camera.
Officers later searched Farris’ car and no drugs were found, the lawsuit says. They did find $5,000 cash, which Farris was using as she traveled, the lawsuit says.
Wendy was booked into the Ferry County Jail on a Friday and was released the following Monday, according to the lawsuit. Farris eventually underwent a blood draw for a toxicology screen that came back negative for drugs and alcohol.
The charges were dropped by the Ferry County Prosecutor due to a lack of probable cause while the toxicology screening was pending, the lawsuit says.
While at the jail, Farris refused a breathalyzer test at the advice of her attorney even though she had asked for one during the traffic stop, according to the lawsuit. This resulted in Farris being required to obtain SR-22 insurance in order to drive. The lawsuit claims Farris couldn’t afford this type of insurance and resulted in her license being suspended.
The lawsuit asked for a jury trial to determine damages.
KREM left messages for the Culp campaign and the Ferry County Sheriff.
Ferry County Sheriff Ray Maycumber said the suit has arrived at the courthouse but he hasn't had the opportunity to look over the suit.
The Culp campaign referred comment to the city of Republic. KREM sent an email to Republic Mayor Elbert Koontz and are waiting to hear back.
Culp has a military and law enforcement background and is the current police chief for the city of Republic.
His bid for governor started after he gained attention for refusing to enforce voter-approved Initiative 1639 that tightened restrictions on gun laws. He said people started telling him he should run for governor and challenge Inslee, so he did.
One of Culp’s main focuses is tackling homelessness, drug addiction and crime with “zero-tolerance” policies that "empower law enforcement professionals to actively take drug dealers and addicts off the streets."
KING 5 staff contributed to this report.