Resident alleges police misconduct and municipal-court record tampering during public comment

During the public comment period at the March 3 Anacortes City Council meeting, resident David Bridal of Sequim addressed the council and raised allegations concerning police misconduct within the Anacortes Police Department and alleged tampering with audio records in Anacortes Municipal Court.

Bridal said he had reviewed court recordings published on the municipal court website and compared them with his own recordings of hearings in his case. He told council he found differences in published audio and asserted the recordings had been edited; he said that, as a result, he was unable to produce a transcript used in an appeal. He described correspondence with Court Clerk Rebecca Welch and said he had been told the clerk’s office handles posting recordings to the court website.

Bridal framed his concerns in constitutional terms, saying he believed citizens’ rights had been affected. He left the council with the assertion that he would pursue the matter further. Council took no formal action in response during the meeting; the remarks were recorded as part of public comment.

The meeting record also includes a brief, unrelated comment and joke from another attendee identified as Ray.

Ending: The council did not take action on the allegations at the meeting; the comments were recorded during public comment and no staff report or investigation was announced on March 3.