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Wednesday, February 19, 2025

Seattle Area Cop to Get $1.5M Settlement For Displaying Nazi Insignia

Former Kent Police Officer Derek Kammerzell

A former high-ranking police officer in Kent, Washington who displayed a Nazi insignia at work is to get $1.5M from the city. Derek Kammerzell had the Nazi insignia displayed on his office door. The city of Kent will be paying $1.5 million to settle the dispute with the former assistant police chief. He was disciplined for posting a Nazi rank insignia on his office door. He also joked about the Holocaust.

Kammerzell had been with the department for almost three decades. At first, he was given two weeks of unpaid leave after the 2020 incident. This soft approach was met with anger in the community. Residents and members of the Jewish community demanded that Mayor Ralph demand Kammerzell’s resignation.

It is when the city attempted to discipline Kammerzell a second time that created the legal issue. This caused the city to essentially pay a cop for being supportive of Nazis. The interim city Chief Administrative Officer, who is also the city attorney, said the city had resolved the matter through negotiation.

In calling for Kammerzell’s resignation in January, the city acknowledged that the decision to revisit the discipline issue would likely come at a high cost. The city said recently that it would pay him $1,520,000 to resign.

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The insignia placed above the nameplate on Kammerzell’s office door in September 2020 was of an “obergruppenfuhrer”. An obergruppenfuher is a high official in Hitler’s paramilitary SS. They were responsible for the systematic murders of millions of Jews and others in Europe during World War II. It was in the door for four days. a detective in the investigations bureau, which Kammerzell commanded, filed a complaint.

The insignia was taken down after four days. A detective that worked under Kammerzel filed a complaint. Kammerzell also allegedly made jokes about the Holocaust, according to the internal investigation. Who he made them to and how they were received is not yet known.

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