Officer charged with assault to return to work

A Snohomish County sheriff's sergeant charged with assault will return to his patrol position in the coming weeks, according to the sergeant's defense attorney.

Sgt. Vincent Linnell has been on paid administrative leave from his nearly $74,000-per-year job since Feb. 13, 2007.

Linnell, 42, is accused of choking and shoving a man who allegedly caused a traffic accident that left two police officers injured, according to charging papers filed in King County District Court.

The King County Prosecutor's Office, which was brought in to handle the case, charged Linnell with fourth-degree assault on March 30.

Snohomish County sheriff John Lovick declined to comment about Linnell on Friday.

Sheriff's spokeswoman Rebecca Hover said the department is still completing an internal investigation and declined to say if or when Linnell would return to work.

Defense attorney Stephen Garvey said he and King County prosecutors negotiated an agreement and if Linnell completes it within two years the misdemeanor case will be dismissed.

In the agreement, signed April 2, Linnell has promised to complete a 52-week anger-management program, attend monthly counseling and "commit no further criminal law violations or assaultive or harassing behavior," court papers said.

"This disposition will not affect his job," Garvey said. "He has an excellent history as an officer. This accusation, if true, is a total aberration."

Garvey said Linnell, a 17-year veteran of the Sheriff's Office, is pleased with the prosecutors' decision, as is Christopher Church, the man he is accused of injuring.

According to the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office, Linnell and a group of motorcycle officers from several departments were riding north on Machias Road in an unincorporated section of the county when Church's truck crossed into their lane.

Church's trailer struck Lynnwood police Officer Scott Dilworth, causing serious injuries, and forcing the officer into another officer's motorcycle, court papers said.

Church continued driving south, but was pulled over about a half-mile down Machias Road, court papers said. Church was arrested and put in the back of a police car.

Linnell had been riding with a separate group of motorcycle officers when the collision occurred.

When he arrived at the scene, he was described by co-workers as "animated" and "upset," according to court documents.

Church said Linnell reached into the patrol car and grabbed him by the throat, court charging papers said. He said that Linnell said he would have killed him had an officer been killed.

Linnell then walked away and told several officers and a Sheriff's Office secretary that he had choked Church, court papers said.

Church, of Kenmore, was charged with hit and run and vehicular assault, but was later acquitted.

Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464-8294 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com

Information in this article, originally published April 12, 2008, was corrected June 30, 2008. A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that an agreement had been worked out so that Sgt. Vincent Linnell could return to work. But the sheriff's office said Monday that it has not completed an investigation and could not say whether he will return to work.