KCSO 2024 IIU Annual Report: 13% Sustained Rate, 28 Deputies With 8+ Inquiries Across Four Years
Headline numbers
| Metric | 2024 | YoY change |
|---|---|---|
| Total inquiries | 335 | +4.7% |
| Total allegations | 655 | +18% |
| Sustained inquiries | 54 | +30% |
| Sustained allegations | 88 | +40% |
| Members with sustained findings | 69 | +44% (from 48) |
| Excessive/unnecessary force inquiries | 41 | slight uptick |
| Excessive/unnecessary force allegations | 64 | down YoY |
| Members with 3+ inquiries in 2024 | 31 | down from 36 |
| Members with 8+ inquiries 2021-2024 | 28 | n/a |
Where complaints came from
| Origin | 2024 count |
|---|---|
| Community member | 181 |
| Internal | 111 |
| OLEO | 24 |
| Other agency | 15 |
| Unknown | 4 |
Internal-origin inquiries fell 18% while community-origin rose ~18%. The report does not analyze whether this signals deteriorating internal self-policing, improved community access, or both.
Discipline outcomes (sustained allegations)
| Action | Allegations | Members |
|---|---|---|
| Written reprimand | 24 | 20 |
| Suspension | 23 | 17 |
| Corrective counseling | 17 | 17 |
| Performance training | 10 | 8 |
| No discipline | 10 | 4 |
| Termination | 9 | 3 |
“No discipline” on 10 sustained allegations across 4 members deserves followup. The report does not break down what conduct categories those sustained-but-undisciplined allegations involved.
Repeat-inquiry concentration
Twenty-eight members had eight or more inquiries between 2021 and 2024. That’s 2.3% of the workforce. The report does not disclose names, badge numbers, or assignment patterns. It also does not state whether these 28 overlap with the 31 employees with 3+ inquiries in 2024 alone.
The terminology recommendation
IIU recommends that the Council amend Motion 14002 to align its mandated reporting terminology with IIU’s internal taxonomy. Read carefully: the Council told KCSO what to report; KCSO is now telling the Council its reporting categories don’t match operational reality and asking the Council to change its language to match KCSO’s. The substantive question of whether Council’s original categories captured the right things is not addressed.
What’s missing
- Bias-based policing allegation count and sustained rate (not stated on pages reviewed).
- Dishonesty allegation counts and sustained rate.
- OLEO certification rate (declined to certify how many of 335?).
- Sustained rate on the 64 excessive force allegations specifically.
- Demographic breakdown of subjects of force allegations.
Pairs with
- KC-2026-009 (OLEO Traffic Enforcement, KCSO non-response)
- 2026 Inspector General proposal case (Dembowski + Dunn)
- OLEO disposition-disagreement pattern case (IIU2024-243, IIU2025-206)
Sources
- King County Sheriff's Office Internal Investigations Unit 2024 Annual ReportPrimary → No archive copy yet